The Lamb and The Tyger by William Blake Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Lamb and The Tyger by William Blake - Essay Example The Lamb is meek, vulnerable and harmless. The picture of the Lamb’s feeding â€Å"by the stream and o’er the mead† suggests God’s kindness in creation and echoes similar descriptions as seen in the Bible particularly Psalms 23, as well as the parables of Jesus. In the second stanza, Blake reminds the readers that the God who created the Lamb is also like the Lamb, considering that Jesus is known as the â€Å"Lamb of God.† The poem seems to be essentially about God’s love revealed through His care for The Lamb and the child and about the apparent paradox that God became both child and Lamb in coming, as Jesus, into the world. The image of a child is also associated with Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus shows a special preference for children. Likewise, the Bible depicts the childhood of Jesus, showing him to be guileless and vulnerable. â€Å"The Tyger† on the other hand is a poem that tells of the realities of life through the magnificence of a tiger. For generations, The Tyger has been interpreted differently but its fundamental meaning is the natural and creative energy of human life, an inspiring shape (â€Å"symmetry†) that no one should try to control. Blake’s poetry tells of the extremes of human experiences, which is richly portrayed in his poem, â€Å"The Tyger†. The tiger is fierce, active and predatory portraying the extremes of human experience. The poem encompasses the darkest forces of ignorance which are transcended by the divine, transcendental consciousness which combines both polarities of light and darkness. The questions presented in â€Å"The Tyger† are directed at the tiger as well as the reader. These are rhetorical questions because no answer is given and answers to these questions are far from obvious. Take into consideration the answer to the first question which may be â€Å"God†

THe importance of art education within our society and educational Essay

THe importance of art education within our society and educational systems - Essay Example In these regards, one might consider the purpose behind including mathematics in education. In great part, individuals will never directly use the mathematical skills they gain in real life situations, however the challenge and process of solving the equations can be transferred to challenges later in life; in the same regards, an art education can be implemented in future careers and life scenarios. In addition to the importance art education has for developing skills, I also believe it is important as it imbues students with a sense of cultural appreciation. When one considers that in great part the function of museums that exhibit art is to highlight the cultural significance of the specific time period or cultural milieu in which the work was created, it is clear that learning about and understanding art is important for the very fabric of society. In this respect, art appreciation allows individuals an added perspective into the historical nature of past and current cultures. Th is appreciation makes individuals more intelligent and open-minded, benefitting both themselves and the world in which they live.

Auto World Inc Essay Example for Free

Auto World Inc Essay Auto World Inc. (AWI) is a leading automotive retail and service chain. They have many operating segments comprised of two different centers 10 miles apart from each other. Pit Stop Centers (PSC) offer service labor, installed merchandise, and tires while their Auto Boyz Centers (ABC) sells automotive merchandise. AWI has a plan to close their operating segment PSC to change their current operating structure to improve and efficiently deliver retail products and automotive services by providing their customers with a ‘one stop’ shopping for ‘do-it-yourself’ retail customers and ‘do-it-for-me’ customers† (PSC Case). AWI expects this change to enhance their ability to increase market share, improve sales, and company earnings. This change in restructuring will have an effect on current earnings and will need to be reported properly in their 2007 Income Statement. AWI must report this continuing activity properly under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), commonly known as GAAP has specific standards that must be followed in order to classify the disposal of an entity as discontinued or continues operation of a component of an entity. Under the guidance of numerous ASC’s, AWI does not meet the two conditions to report their PSC closures as discontinued operations. The criteria used, assessment period, presentation, and disclosure for this retail company will be explained in detail when applying proper GAAP. A component of an entity comprises operations and cash flows that can be clearly distinguished, operationally and for financial reporting purposes, from the rest of the entity; it may be a reportable segment or an operating segment, a reporting unit, a subsidiary, or an asset group in which Auto World determined correctly under the first requirement that the PSC met the definition of a â€Å"component of an entity† (ASC 205-20-20). The two conditions for reporting the disposed transaction as discontinued operations are: The results of operations of a component of an entity that either has been disposed of or is classified as held for sale under the requirements of paragraph 360-10-45-9, shall be reported in discontinued operations in accordance with paragraph 205-20-45-3 if both of the following conditions are met: 1. The operations and cash flows of the component have been (or will be) eliminated from the ongoing operations of the entity as a result of the disposal transaction. 2. The entity will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction (ASC 205-20-45-1). Several steps below will be used to explain why the disposal of the PSC stores should be considered a continuation of operations rather than discontinue of operations (ASC 205-20-55-3). These three steps along with their respective answers are also depicted in a flow chart (see Appendix A). Step one asks are continuing cash flows expected to be generated by the ongoing entity? Yes, the continuing cash flows are being generated by ABC from transactions with customers from PSC. Step two asks if the continuing cash flows result from a migration or continuation of activities. The continuing cash flows are the result of a migration from the closed PSC’s to the â€Å"one stop† ABC. ABC sells products similar to those sold in the closed retail stores. After the closure of the Pit Stop Centers, Auto World estimates that there will be continuing cash flows from the sale of automotive services and tires by the ongoing ABC’s of approximately $600 million. Auto World estimates that the Pit Stop Centers would have generated approximately $700 million of sales absent the disposal transaction (PSC Case). Step three asks if the continuing cash flows are significant. Yes, the ongoing ABC estimates the continuing cash inflows will approximate 86 percent (see Appendix B) of that would have been generated by PSC’s absent the disposal transaction. AWI is expecting these actions to generate significant cash flow in 2007 and to increase free cash flow in 2008. AWI is also expecting to yield improvements in operating earnings of approximately $58 million in 2008 to be significant leading to the classification as a discontinued operation to be inappropriate (ASC 205-20-55-70). Since stakeholders rely on financial statements to base their decisions and to project future cash flows, current information presented must be accurate under GAAP Under the second requirement, one issue I have identified is the intentions of management’s decisions to improve their company’s net earnings. The professional literature I relied on are these two statements, â€Å"the actions we are announcing today will further enhance our ability to increase market share and improve sales and earnings at our company† and â€Å"in this regard, we remain committed to the automotive business and we expect to deliver significant additional profitable growth† were made by Mr. Bobby, chairman and chief executive officer. When considering the use and disclosure of restructuring charges, depending on the industry, there should not be re-occurring â€Å"restructuring cost† line item on the Income Statement year after year. Closing the PSC stores as of the second quarter in June 2007 is an event taking place in 2007 which can happen only once. If management continues to show this type of special/unusual charge in future periods, the question of integrity should be raised. Management does not want to give off the impression of possibly smoothing earnings by using restructuring charges. â€Å"Once a decision to restructure is made, GAAP requires companies to estimate the future costs they expect to incur to carry out the restructuring for such things as plant closings (AWI currently estimates it will incur restructuring and other charges totaling $52 million pre-tax). These estimated restructuring costs are then charged to an expense account with an offsetting credit to a liability account (Restructuring reserve) in the current period† (Revsine, pg 155). In developing my recommendation and conclusion for resolving this issue, management should make a foot note explaining these changes which will allow stakeholders to make better decisions. The new re-structured ABC will continue to sell automotive parts that were previously sold through the PSC’s, and under the ASC, PSC store closures are not considered and cannot be reported as a discontinued operation in AWI’s second quarter financial statements. The continuing cash flows are being generated by ABC from transactions with customers from PSC, given by the level of significance of 86 percent for this continuing cash flow subsequent to the disposal transaction.

Implications of NRHM in Punjab

Implications of NRHM in Punjab Sustainable Health Development:  An Analysis of Implications of NRHM in Punjab Ms. Gunjan Malhotra[1] Dr. Madhur M. Mahajan[2] Abstract: The National Rural Health Mission was launched in 2005 (although full fledged activities began in full swing in 2007-2008) along with other states and union territories. The thrust of the mission is on establishing a fully functional, community owned, decentralized health delivery system with inter-sectoral convergence at all levels, to ensure simultaneous action on a wide range of determinants of health such as water, sanitation, education, nutrition, social and gender equality.The paper intends to study the impact of NRHM in terms of health infrastructure and to examine the impact of NRHM on health indicators like Infant Mortality Rate, Maternal Mortality Rate and Total Fertility Rate in the state of Punjab. It also studies the differences in Punjab and Kerala in terms of Health infrastructure and Health indicators. The study results show that a number of sub centres, PHC and CHC have increased and also IMR, MMR and TFR have come down after implementation of NRHM. Sustainability in health development means improvement in the health indicators and better health care facilities for existing and future population. Key words: NRHM, Sustainable Health Development, Mortality. Introduction: Health is described as the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being (WHO). Health is a state of being hale sound or whole in body, mind especially the state of being free from physical disease or pain. Good health is a pre-requisite for human productivity and development process. Improvement in health would make a positive impact on economic development. Better health can increase the number of potential man hours for production by reducing morbidity and disability as well as reducing mortality. Better health may result in more productivity per man as well as more men available for work. Promotion of a good health must be a prime objective of every country’s development programmes. The preamble to the WHO constitution also states that the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being and those governments are responsible for health of their people and they can fulfil that responsibility of taking appropriate measures. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: The concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the worlds poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environments ability to meet present and future needs. (Brundtland Report, 1987) Sustainability is related to the quality of life in a community whether the economic, social and environmental systems that make up the community are providing a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all community residents, present and future. Sustainable health care system means meeting the health and health care needs of individuals and the population which would lead to optimal health and health care outcome. According to WHO any policy is said to be sustainable when: It continues to function effectively for the foreseeable future, High treatment coverage, integrate into available health care services, have strong community ownership and use resources mobilized by community and government. Taking into account the above factors of sustainability National Rural Health Mission was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi in 2005 in the country, with a special focus on 18 states. It recognizes the importance of health care in the process of economic and social development and improving the quality of lives of our citizens. It provides effective health care to rural population throughout the country. NRHM initiative as a whole with its wide approach is a national movement that just a national health project. The main objective of NRHM in state Punjab is: To provide accessible, affordable, accountable, effective and reliable health care, especially to the poor and the vulnerable sections of the population in rural areas. To achieve health indicators like IMR, MMR and TFR to acceptable levels. The mission is an articulation of the commitment of the government to raise public spending on health from 0.9% of GDP to 2-3% of GDP and aims to undertake architectural correction of the health system to enable it to effectively handle increased allocations as promised under the national common minimum program and promote policies that strengthen public health management and service delivery in the country. To revitalize local health traditions and mainstream AYUSH into the public health system. It aims at effective integration of health concerns with determinants of health like sanitation and hygiene, nutrition and safe drinking water through a district plan for health. Literature Review: Kumar (2005) reported that study on Maternal Mortality Reduction and opportunity under National Rural Health Mission.Maternal Mortality Rate continues to remain high in our Country without showing any declining period of two decades. The proportion of maternal death contributes by direct obstetrics causes have also remained more or less the same in rural areas. There is a strong need to improve coverage of antenatal care, promote institutional deliveries and provide emergency of obstetric care. Ramani (2006) â€Å"Status of Indian Health System† identified that the critical areas of management concerns in the Indian Health Care System are mainly non-availability of staff, weak referral system, poor service delivery, financial shortfalls and lack of accountability of quality of care. Gautham (2007) in their study â€Å"Patterns of Public Health Expenditure in India: An analysis of State, and Central Health budget in Pre and Post NRHM Period† examined the size, distribution, trends, composition and rate of growth of Union and State Health Expenditure during the period of 2001 2002 to 2008 – 2009. Garg (2007) explored the current status of implementation and progress of activities as envisaged under NRHM in the high focus states of the country that are under priority, as well as non priority states. Ashtekar(2008) emphasised on the failure of decentralisation, the lack of inter-sectoral coordination, and the undermining of traditional health support are the reasons why the National Rural Health Mission has not delivered what it had set out to achieve. Sinha(2009) studied that NRHM provided a large canvas and platform for health action, but Shyam Ashtekar (EPW, 13 September 2008) misses many issues and does not make his critique from the right perspective. During the short period of its existence there is ample evidence to show that the mission has been moving in the right direction, crafting a credible public system of health delivery starting from the village and going up to the district level. Hussain (2011): reported that NRHM was introduced as a flagship scheme of the United Progressive Alliance government in 2005-06 to address the needs of the rural population through an architectural correction of the health system. With the completion period drawing to a close in 2012, he critically evaluates the success of the intervention strategies under this scheme. Pal (2011) analysed NRHM, this programme has put rural public health care firmly on the agenda, and is on the right track with the institutional changes it has wrought within the health system. He seeks to evaluate the performance of service delivery in rural public health facilities under National Rural Health Mission. The concept and working of NRHM has been discussed in brief. Anirvan (2012) in her study observed that National Rural Health Mission is the Government of India’s largest public health program. This report briefly analyse NRHM expenditures along the following parameters: overall trends in fund allocation and expenditure: GOI and States, allocation and expenditure on key programs like immunization, physical coverage and human resource avail- ability, and outcomes (Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate). Patra, Ramadass (2013) studied the impact of NRHM on the health infrastructure and on the health indicators and to analyze the determinants of health status in the health development of Odisha. The study is only based on the secondary data. The collected data was analyzed with the help of MS-WORD and Excel. The study showed that the health status of study area is very poor and is gradually increasing as a result of the implementation of NRHM and the staple reasons for this tendency are: low income, illiteracy, shortage of doctors, unwillingness doctors to go to remote areas and lack of health care facilities and lack of production of laboratory technicians and radiographers. Thimmaiah, Mamatha (2014) intends to study the impact of NRHM in terms of health infrastructure and to examine the impact of NRHM on health indicators, like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Crude Death Rate (CDR) and Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Karnataka. The study result shows that the number of Sub Centres, Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres has increased between 2005 and 2010. Also, IMR, MMR, CDR and TFR have come down after the implementation of National Rural Health Mission. Objectives of the study: To study the impact of NRHM in terms of health infrastructure in Punjab. To examine the impact of NRHM on health indicators like IMR, TRR and MMR in Punjab. Hypothesis of the study: There is significant reduction in health indicator IMR, MMR and TFR after implementation of NRHM. Methodology of the study: Keeping the objective of the study into mind, an attempt has been made to draw a comparative picture of the health indicators before and after NRHM. The study relies on secondary data. The data is collected from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare statistical report NRHM, statistical abstract of Punjab, NRHM Annual Reports, Five year plan reports, Economic survey, Census reports and WHO reports. The data collected has been tabulated and impact of the NRHM on sustainable health in Punjab has been gauged by employing graphical analysis, correlation techniques and t-test. Impact of NRHM in terms of Health Infrastructure in Punjab Table 1: Number of Sub Centres, PHC’s and CHC’s functioning Source: Economic Survey 2012 From the above table it is clear that in the year 2005 when NRHM was launched, there were 2850 sub centres, 441 PHC’s and 120 CHC’s operated in Punjab. In the year 2010, the number of sub centres, PHC’s and CHC’s increased to 2950, 449 and 132 respectively. At all India level the PHC’s, CHC’s and sub centres have increased. In the following chart it is found that Sub Centres, PHC’s and CHC’s have been increased from the year 2005 to the year 2010 after the implementation of NRHM in Punjab. Chart-1 Sub Centres, PHC’s and CHC’s in Punjab Impact of NRHM in terms of Health Indicators in Punjab To study the impact of NRHM in terms of health indicators 3 indicators are used which are Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). A time period from 2000 to 2011 has been taken 6 years before implementation of NRHM and 6 years after NRHM. The following table shows the health indicators from 2000 to 2011: Table-2 Health Indicators 2000-2011 Source: RHS bulletin 2012(health and family welfare in Punjab) From the above table it is clear that IMR, MMR and IMR have reduced over the time period 2000 to 2011. Before implementation of NRHM, TFR was 2.4 and has been reduced to 1.7, MMR was 178 has been reduced to 154 and IMR was 52 has been reduced to 28. Chart-2 TFR 2001-2013 The above charts shows the decline in Total Fertlity Rate from 2000 to 2012 and the current rate is 1.7. Chart-3 MMR 2001-2012 The chart 3 shows a decline in Maternal Mortality Rate but in the year 2004-05 there has been increase in MMR and thereafter a decline in MMR. Chart-4 IMR-2001-2013 Chart-4 shows a significant decline in IMR after the implementation of NRHM. As compared to other health indicators IMR has shown the maximum improvement. Table-3 Sample t-test on Health Indicators in Punjab On the basis of analysis conducted by using sample T-test indicates that TFR was 2.28 before implementation of NRHM and it was decreased to 1.865 after implementation of NRHM. Overall decreased rate is 0.4183. The t statistic is significant at 1% level of significance. Hence null hypothesis of no difference is rejected and alternative hypothesis of significant difference is accepted. With respect of MMR, the rate of MMR 48.83 before implementation of NRHM and it was decreased to 163 after implementation of NRHM. Overall decreased rate is 19.34.The t statistic is significant at 1% level of significance. Hence null hypothesis of no difference is rejected and alternative hypothesis of significant difference is accepted. With respect of IMR, the rate of MMR 182.34 before implementation of NRHM and it was decreased to 35.67 after implementation of NRHM. Overall decreased rate is 13.16.The t statistic is significant at 1% level of significance. Hence null hypothesis of no difference is rejected and alternative hypothesis of significant difference is accepted. Major Findings of the Study: Number of sub centres, PHC’s and CHC’s have increased from 2005 to 2010 after the implementation of NRHM. Over the period substantial reduction has been seen in IMR, MMR and TFR after the implementation of NRHM. The reduction in the indicators and increase in health infrastructure depicts that there is sustainability in health after the implementation of NRHM. Conclusion: NRHM launched by the government of India holds great hope and promises to serve deprived communities of rural areas. The invariable existence of social cultural differences in the community has always been a challenge to health care efforts made by Government of India. Sustainibility in health is a major challenge in the hands of Government i.e. reduction in major health indicators and improvement of health infrastructure without having an effect on future generations. Sustainibility has a very wide scope and there are many reasons and policies which emphasis on Health Infrastructure and Health Indicators. But this paper only studies the impact of NRHM on the sustainibility of Health Development in Punjab. Refrences: Ashtekar, S (2008): â€Å"The National Rural Health Mission: A Stocktaking†, Economic Political Weekly, XLIII (37): 23-26. Anirvan Chowdhury, (2012) in her study â€Å"Budget Briefs-National Rural Health Mission†, Accountability initiative Research and Innovation for Governance accountability, No 69. Garge Suneel, Natha Anita, (2007) â€Å"Current Status of National Rural Health Mission†, Vol.32, Issue: 3 page: 171-172. Kumar’s â€Å"Challenges of Maternal Mortality Reduction and Opportunities under National Rural Health Mission. A Critical Appraisal†, Indian Public Health. 2005 Jul-Sep; 49(3): 163-7. Ramani K.V, Maavalakar Dileep, (2006) â€Å"Health System in India: Opportunity and challenges for improvement†, Journal of Health and Organization Management, UK, Vol. 20, No 6, PP 560-572. Suresh Kumar Patra, L.Annam Prof. M. Ramadass (2013) â€Å"National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Health Status of Odisha: An Economic Analysis† Language in India ISSN 1930-2940 13:4 April 2013. World Health Organization. 2006. Constitution of the World Health Organization – Basic Documents, Forty-fifth edition, Supplement, October 2006. Husain (2011) â€Å"Health of the National Rural Health Mission†, Economic and Political Weekly, Jan 22, vol XLV1, No 4. Pal (2011) â€Å"National Rural Health Mission: Issues and Challenges†, Zenith International Journal of Business Economics and Management Research, Dec 2011, Vol.1 Issue 3. Thimmaiah, Mamatha (2014) â€Å"National Rural Health Mission Status in Karnataka: An Economic Analysis†, ISSN-2250-1991, Vol.3 Issue-5. National Health Systems Resource Centre â€Å"NRHM in Eleventh Five Year Plan†, ISBN-978-93-82655-00-8. http://www.punjabstat.com/health/16/vitalstatistics/291/infantmortalityrate/17794/stats.aspx http://www.pbnrhm.org/home.htm [1] Assistant Professor, Post Graduate Department of Economics, GGDSD College, Chandigarh. [2] Assistant Professor, Post Graduate Department of Economics, GGDSD College, Chandigarh.

Plants and Superstitions Essay -- Botany

Plants and Superstitions For many years plants have played a large part in superstitions. Although, they are not so much believed now, as they used to be. They were used to help one's fortune, wealth and fertility. It is amazing that bread was ever eaten; there were so many superstitions about it. It was used to aid in all of these things and many more, It is ironic, however, that the one thing they worshipped and used to keep harm and disease away made them ill and killed some of them. When all of this happened they blamed another superstition, which was witchcraft. "Almost all of the witchcraft misunderstandings were caused by Christianity's persecution of those who refused to abandon pagan beliefs" (Zolar, 1995), but not in the case of the Salem Witch trials. In 1692 superstitions somehow became the way of thinking. The misuse of it led to the executions of many innocent people in this country. Witchcraft was the crime, for which they were wrongly accused. Fact Net Inc. (see Internet Source) defines superstitions as "Beliefs held despite evidence. They are based on the belief that some people, Plants, animals, stars, words, numbers or special things have magical powers, which contradicts what we know about the world." A mysterious illness overcame Salem, Massachusetts. Thrashing around, moaning, babbling, and crying made up what were called "convulsive fits," which suddenly occurred in eight girls daily. Hallucinations were also a part of their fits. (see Internet Source). Everyone was terrified. Doctors came to visit, but they did not know much about disease and medicines at that time. One doctor questioned the idea of witchcraft and soon rumors spread that there was a witch in town, or maybe even a group of them we... ...tific thinking has almost swept away the ignorance of superstitions that once kept people from learning about out world. Like in the case of the Salem Witch trials "When minds are poisoned by the ignorance of superstitions, terrible things happen" (see Internet Source). Bibliography Bennett, J.W. 1999. Pride and Prejudice: The story of ergot. Perspective in Biology and Medicine 42 (3): 333-355. Spanos, Nicholas P. 1983. Ergotism and the Salem witch panic: a critical analysis and an alternative conceptualization. Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences 19 (4): 358-369. Starkey, Marion L. 1949. The Devil in Massachusetts, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 39- 48, 138-158. Zolar.1995. Encyclopedia of signs, omens and superstitions. Carol Publishing Group, New York. 50-52,380. Internet Source: http://www.xenu.org/factnet/GEN/FILES/BOOKS/TRUE.TXT

Monopolistic Competition in the Retail Industry Essay -- Microeconomic

Monopolistic Competition in the Retail Industry Defining the Market The retail industry is comprised of thousands of different brands and companies. However each is defined by its quality of make and materials used. Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, and Guess are all well-known and respected brand names. However if prices were to exceed what people are willing to pay, then the consumers would alter their preferences and buy from another brand. Therefore we are dealing with a monopolistic competition. Monopolistic competition is often defined as: a common form of industry structure characterized by a large number of firms, none of which can influence market price by virtue of size alone; some degree of market power is achieved by firms producing differentiated products. New firms can enter and established firms can exit with ease ) I. ?common form of the industry structure characterized by a large number of firms none of which can influence market price by virtue of size alone ? New firms can enter and established firms can exit with ease.?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every year hundreds of new designers emerge into the retail industry. No matter what one?s style of clothing, there are dozens of other brands to choose from should one company?s price go beyond the household?s expectation of price. Each company is on a careful balance of price and cannot exceed the other company?s prices beyond what the consumer sees as reasonable. Moreover, firms can enter and exit easily because there are no tariffs and resources are plentiful. This is the competitive side of monopolistic competition. II. some degree of market power is achieved by firms producing differentiated products   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However the retail firm is also monopolistic because of the added aspect that each company does have some degree of market power through their differentiation of products. One way firms differentiate themselves is through the consumer and the way they fashion their products. The consumer determines the success/failure of a company. A major problem firms face is how to accommodate to the changing preferences of the consumer. Guess was at one point similar to Levi?s, a brand of jeans limited to the department store. However in 2002, Guess signed on Marciano, a prominent high-end European designer, and sales have boomed since. Now, Guess is a well-known, popular brand among teenagers and ... ...l be most receptive. Timberlands are successful in areas with cold, long winters like Ohio but would make minimal profit in area such as Florida. Bibiliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Case, Karl E. & Ray C. Fair. Principles of Microeconomics. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?Guess-Marciano,? 2004. < http://www.marciano.com> 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?Glossary of Economic Terms? Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Understanding the Terms Symbol = a code comprised of letters used as a unique identification of the stock 52 week High = the highest price reached during the last 52 weeks 52 week Low = the lowest price reached during the last 52 weeks Dividend = taxable payment declared by a company?s board of directors & given to its shareholders out of the company?s current/retained earnings Dividend Yield = yield a company pays its shareholders in the form of dividends; calculated by the amount of dividends paid per share over the course of the year divided by the stock price P/E Ratio = (aka the price earnings ratio) most common measure of how pricey the stock is; equivalent to a stock?s market capitalization divided by its post tax earnings over a year?s period

Lady Macbeth is referred to as a ‘fiend-like queen’ Essay

At the end of the play lady Macbeth is referred to as a ‘fiend-like queen’. Do you agree with this final assessment of her and can we hold her in any way responsible for the chaos and destruction there is at the play’s conclusion? Through focused analysis of Shakespeare’s presentation of her character, give your response to this interpretation. Consider: * The influence she has on her husband * Audience reaction then and now * And anything else you feel is relevant Malcolm gives one of the many different opinions of Lady Macbeth, when he comments on her ambitious and manipulative side. He calls her â€Å"fiend-like.† Another opinion which is less associated with her is the gentle woman’s opinion near the end as she is pitied by her in regards to her conscience and guilt for the murders and for chaotic situation in Scotland. She is viewed as the source of destruction in Scotland by some and is pitied by others. At the time Macbeth was written James I was on the throne. At that time people believed in the divine right of kings, they believed that the king was a spokes person from god and to murder a king would have been seen as the most abominable of crimes. So for Macbeth and lady Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan who is a king would have been seen as evil and sacrilegious. Macbeth was performed around 1611 for James I and it reflects his interests in witchcraft from his own personal experiences at the time. A modern audience would be more cynical of the idea of witchcraft whereas a Shakespearean audience believed that witches were real and would have been more afraid of some of the themes and happenings in the play. Lady Macbeth is seen as being even more ambitious than her husband and has fewer moral scruples. She urges Macbeth to kill Duncan, and refuses to understand his doubts and hesitations. Gradually her close relationship with Macbeth crumbles into nothing because of this. She is first introduced to the play when she is reading a letter from Macbeth which is addressed to her. In the letter Macbeth calls her, â€Å"my dearest partner in greatness† this is unusual because in the time the play is set it was odd for women to be of equal status to men, but Macbeth who is also her husband sees her as his partner and therefore equal. Upon reading the letter she immediately jumps to the unusual conclusion of murdering Duncan for Macbeth to become king as prophesied and already starts to plot what she has to do to fulfil what she has been told will happen. When Macbeth comes home she tells him of her plan of murdering Duncan which is similar to what Macbeth thinks when he is made Thane of Cawdor, only Macbeth dismisses the thought and reasons with himself that it is wrong were Lady Macbeth is resolute and even goes so far to call on ‘evil spirits’ to ‘unsex’ her â€Å"Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry ‘hold, hold'†. She sees that Macbeth is not as determined as she is about the murder and sees his tendency to think of the consequences of their actions and sees it as a crucial weakness in her plan which shows selfishness in her character. She tells him, â€Å"Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t† the imagery of a flower shows that he should look ‘sweet’ and innocent on the outside so as not to arouse suspicion but, that on the inside he should be able to be as harsh and deadly as a serpent. When she invokes evil spirits to ‘unsex’ her and take away her femininity the language used by Shakespeare is Iambic pentameter, which he uses to show the status of a character and that she is as equal as Macbeth and Macduff who also speak in Iambic pentameter in the play as most of her speeches in the play are in this form. Her speech as she calls on evil spirits is of this form of language to show the importance in what she is asking and how it will affect her in the rest of the play. The use of rhyming couplets and Iambic pentameter makes the communication more memorable to the audience. although when it comes to the murder she cannot kill Duncan herself because of the way he resembles her father, â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t† this might show her character as being not completely evil because of the love for her father and shows us a humane side of her and that she relies on the ‘evil spirits’ to conceal her emotions. The words used like â€Å"come† and â€Å"fill† shows the urgency and highlights her determination, and the violent and inhuman imagery used like â€Å"You murdering ministers†, â€Å"That my keen knife† and â€Å"Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,† emphasises her determination even more. The violent imagery of a brutal murder of a child â€Å"And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this† reinforces the concept that innocence is destroyed in Scotland when Macbeth become king by use of deceit, treachery and brutality. The tactics she uses to make Macbeth commit the murder are manipulative ones; she uses his ambition against him and could only have persuaded him to go through with her plans by using his soaring ambition. Another tactic she uses is whenever Macbeth disagrees with her she attacks his ‘manhood’ and sense of pride which is another form of manipulation, â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man†. She is also shown as an intelligent person as she is able at the banquet when Macbeth is drawing suspicion to himself to quickly think of excuses â€Å"My lord is often thus, and hath been from his youth. Pray you ,keep seat† another example of her quick thinking is just after the murder of Duncan where again Macbeth is drawing attention to them by ‘over acting’ him being innocent, she faints to draw the attention away from Macbeth and so they don’t become suspicious. She is a controlled decisive character compared to Macbeth as he struggles to make up his mind if it is right to commit the murder whereas Lady Macbeth makes the decision and keeps it. She is also very perceptive as she realises Macbeth’s dilemma with his conscience, â€Å"Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters.† She is compared to her husband Macbeth. Macbeth is also ambitious but not so much as Lady Macbeth, she doesn’t think of the consequences like Macbeth. She just goes through with the plan of murder and has to call on ‘evil spirits’ to suppress the guilt that she knows she will feel. Only it back fires and she becomes so over come with guilt she begins to sleepwalk and become paranoid of seeing a ‘spot’ of blood on her hand that will not come off no matter how many times she washes her hands. The ‘spot’ of blood represents the guilt she feels and how she subconsciously (in her sleep) tries to get rid of it. Where as Macbeth deals with his guilt in a different way and pushes Lady Macbeth further and further away putting a strain on their once strong relationship. He becomes paranoid and deals with it and accepts the fact that what he did was wrong but he can’t go back and so carries down the path that leads to his destruction. As the play progresses she begins to lose her confidence and Macbeth seems to gain more. They are like a ‘set of scales’ that they both evenly balance out another and there always has to be a more dominate partner even though they address each other as equals. As she starts to descend and become more unstable she invokes some sympathy from a modern audience where in a Shakespearean audience would have seen her as a witch and therefore would not have sympathy for her at all, in fact they would probably would have seen her getting what she deserves and would have been happy in hearing of her death because at the time witchcraft would have been seen as evil and at the start of the play where she calls on ‘evil spirits’ is an example of witchcraft whereas a modern audience is more sceptical. The majority of a modern audience would not believe in witches or ‘evil spirits’. Lady Macbeth is compared with other characters in the play. Another character is Lady Macduff. Lady Macduff is shown in the play as what a woman of that time is supposed to be. This would be, caring and protective over her children where Lady Macbeth is shown to have none of theses feminine qualities because instead of caring and nurturing she has ambition and cruelty. And example of this would be, in a speech to Macbeth about how committed to the murder she is she talks about if she had promised Macbeth that she would kill her first born as he had promised to kill Duncan for her. She says, â€Å"Dash’d the brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this† this is a rather graphic and violent image and shows that she has none of the stereotypical qualities associated with women and that’s what makes her so different from lady Macduff. Lady Macduff protects her children and describes herself as a wren protecting her young ones â€Å"for the poor wren, the mist diminutive of birds, will fight, her young ones in her nest against the owl† the bird imagery is also used around and by Lady Macbeth but it is mostly the crow which is seen as a symbol of evilness and death. It is interesting that both Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff see Macduff as a traitor for leaving his family, which shows some similarity in their morals. Even the language Shakespeare uses for her changes from blank verse to prose. This shows the disintegration of her character and how she is slowly losing her status in the play and also her state of mind. It is almost like she has been driven insane by suppressing her guilt. And because of that guilt the relationship between her and Macbeth has fallen apart, not only because of their ambition but also because of her making them pursue the ambitions. This leaves them in a place that they can’t come back from and even though Macbeth accepts that, she cannot and it is almost like she may be blaming herself for how things turned out in the end. Most importantly if she thought perusing their ambitions because she wanted the best for her husband. It eventually leads both of them becoming distant. This example of psychological insight of her character means that maybe she is not as much of a monster if she can feel remorse and guilt even if it is in the form of her subconscious state. When she starts compulsively washing her hands shows a deeply troubled psyche and this contradicts in what she says earlier to Macbeth â€Å"A little water clears us of this deed† and then later she talks about the ‘perfumes of Arabia’. Shakespeare’s audience may have associated this with the mark of the devil, where a modern audience might see is as a dramatic representation of her anguish, guilt and torment that she can’t get rid off. This is ironic because at the start of the play just after the murder of Duncan she tells Macbeth to wash his hands but is now trying to wash her own, her reference earlier † What is done cannot be undone† yet she can’t accept her own statement or change the past. The imagery of light and darkness is used around her. The light represents good where darkness shows evil. When she is sleep walking and feeling her guilt it is said that she must have light near her continually, whereas at the start of the play she called on darkness but now it is reversed because she now needs light. When she commits suicide this could be seen as a desperate act to cleanse her mind from the over weighing burden of guilt. She may have just broken down because she has suppressed these emotions whereas Macbeth analysed them and accepted them and therefore could move on, allowing him some release but condemning her into a trap and the only way out was to create her own demised she was that desperate for the guilt to stop tormenting her. In the end of the play after her death and the death of Macbeth, Malcolm refers to her as ‘fiend-like queen’; this is an unfair statement of her character, but some may agree that she is responsible for some of the chaos and destruction at the end of the play, after all it was her ambition that fuelled the cause of Macbeths rampage through Scotland because of his guilt and paranoia that started after she manipulated him into committing murder and becoming a traitor. One could judge her to be an over ambitious person that got sucked in with the idea of power and forgot that it could lead to her downfall. At the beginning of the play she comes across as being vindictive and heartless, a person that takes control and dominates Macbeth in to doing as she says â€Å"To alter favour is to fear. Leave all the rest to me† but as the story goes on she starts to lose that confidence and guilt and doubt start to take over her mind and it is then you start to feel sympathetic towards her. You could feel sorry for her because she had lost everything all because of her ambitious nature and now there was no going back. Some would only agree slightly with the statement Malcolm uses to describe her. At the beginning one may have described her as a ‘fiend’, because of the way she takes charge in the murder and how she immediately jumps to that decision without thinking of the consequences. She is also impatient as she is to not be able to wait to see if the prophecy the witches said will become true. She has to make it become true herself and so takes matters into her own hands and does cause destruction and chaos around her. However she does not do this alone, Macbeth contributes to some of the chaos and destruction even if she was the one to start it. When Macbeth realises that he is in so far that he can not go back instead of stopping the murders he is doing he carries on whereas, Lady Macbeth stops and is consumed by guilt and takes it upon herself to end it. The original source of mischief could be the witches. They might be to blame for the devastation in Scotland, because of the prophecies they made. Without them Macbeth and Lady Macbeth may not have been tempted and tricked by their ambition that caused their downfall. Shakespeare reveals that no villain is entirely ‘fiend-like’ and that there is a source of conscience within everyone. So in fairness the term ‘fiend-like queen’ and the assessment of her holding responsibility for the chaos and destruction and is only partly true. Even though she is a part of the disarray, she is still not solely to blame. After all Macbeth also caused some of that destruction and chaos and even after her death; he carried on with the battle between him and Malcolm. In a way they really were equal partners, because they were both evenly responsible for their own demise and the desegregation in their own mental status and in their relationship with each other, and how their own ambitions became too much for not only the other to control, but for themselves. and that of the other characters in the play. A quote that conveys this is after the murder Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth not to think of his guilt and the irony of the statement she declares is that eventually she does think on the ‘deeds’ and lives the truth in her own declaration. â€Å"These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad†. It would appear that she also wore â€Å"a heart so white† which earlier claimed that she would be ashamed of.