Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Kubla Khan and Ode on Grecian Urn Essay -- Comparative, Coleridge, Kea

Although both â€Å"Kubla Khan,† by Samuel Coleridge and â€Å"Ode on Grecian Urn,† by John Keats are poems originating from the poets’ inspiration from historical figure, the two poems convey different messages through their respective metaphors. While Coleridge emphasizes on the process of creating a Romantic poem, Keats expresses his opinion about art by carefully examining the details of the Grecian urn. In â€Å"Kubla Khan,† Coleridge expresses his desire to use the inspirations from nature to create his own â€Å"Paradise† of poetry (54, p.1634). In the first stanza, Coleridge creates an exotic oriental garden, where the trees, gardens, hills, and the â€Å"Alph† river, together present the beauty of Mother Nature (3, p.1633). Here, the poet carefully observes his surroundings, as the nature will serve as the source of inspiration for his poetry. The â€Å"pleasure dome† (2, p.1633) in line two has two functions, one representing the creation of human beings on earth, and the other being the foundation of Coleridge’s poetic paradise. As the clash between nature and humans takes place in the second stanza with a â€Å"woman wailing for her demon-lover† (16, p.1633) the poet calls upon nature for his inspiration, represented by the powerful activity of nature. The energy of nature is released in forms of â€Å"a might fountain† (19, p .1633), â€Å"rebounding hail† (21, p.1633), or â€Å"dancing rocks† (23, p.1633) and eventually the natural disasters will accompanied by man-made destruction as â€Å"Kubla heard from far Ancestral voices prophesying war† (29-30, p.1634)! Coleridge on one hand reinforces that man and nature are inseparable and one the other uses the energy of nature to represent the spontaneous spurring of emotions in the poet’s mind. In the third stanza, all o... ...storal† (45, p.1848). The urn’s eternity only exists artistically and does not reflect human life because only the urn â€Å"shou remain† forever (47, p.1848). Keats contrasts the ephemeral nature of human life with the longevity of the urn. In last two lines, Keats declares, â€Å"beauty is truth, truth beauty† (29, p.1848) embodying both sides of his perspective. By establishing a relationship between beauty and truth, Keats acknowledges that like truth, the beauty of the Grecian urn is unchangeable and that the ability accept reality is beautiful. While Coleridge describes the process of creating Romantic poetry and encourages poets to use the combination of nature and imagination in this process, Keats is more focused on reality and is well aware of the limitations of the Grecian urn. With the poets’ admiration of nature present in both poems †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ to be completed.

Romanticisms Sublime Style in Rip Van Winkle, Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Romanticism's Sublime Style in Rip Van Winkle, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Billy Budd      Ã‚  Ã‚   "Sublime refers to an aesthetic value in which the primary factor is the presence or suggestion of transcendent vastness or greatness, as of power, heroism, extent in space or time"(Internet Encyclopedia).   This essay will explore different levels of Romanticism's sublime style in Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Herman Melville's Billy Budd. The essay will particularly focus on how the writers incorporate the spiritual and the terror aspects of the sublime into their work. American romanticism requires the wilds of nature to be the setting for the sublime. It is in this setting that the protagonist senses a conflict of good and evil. Even though the beautiful surroundings would suggests a pure serenity, the shadows in the beautiful setting reminds one that there is a dark side to nature. In each story there is an antagonist lurking about requiring the protagonist to choose his thinking - and ultimately his destiny. The antagonist in Billy Budd is Claggart, in The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, Brom Bones, and in Rip Van Winkle it could be a toss up between his nagging wife or the "company of odd-looking personages" he meets in the mountains. Essentially it is Longinus, a first century philosopher, who is first credited with introducing the idea of the sublime into the arts (Weiskel 8). Longinus suggests five sources of sublimity in literature: "(1) the ability to conceive great thoughts, (2) intense emotion, (3) powerful figures of speech, (4) the choice of noble words, and (5) harmonious composition of sentences" (Kennedy, vol. 12). Each of Longinus? foundational sources for sublimity suggests an... ...n Boulton 40).    Works Cited Boulton, J. T. Burke?s Enquiry Into The Sublime And The Beautiful. New York: Columbia University, 1958. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 1997. University of Tennessee at Martin. 4 April 2001. http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/s/sublime.htm. Kennedy, George. "Longinus." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1985. Vol. 12:399. Melville, Herman. "Billy Budd." Ed. Paul Lauther. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. New York: Houghton 1998. 2512-2570. Washington, Irving. "The Legend of Sleep Hallow." Ed. Paul Lauther. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. New York: Houghton 1998. 1354-1373. -------- "Rip Van Winkle." Ed. Paul Lauther. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. New York: Houghton 1998. 1342-1354. Weiskel, Thomas. Romantic Sublime. Baltimore: John Hopkins University, 1976.   

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Pick n Pay’s Essay

What is your strategy to reverse Pick n Pay’s loss of market share? Pick n Pay lost market share in part because it opened materially less space than some of its major competitors. A significant proportion of its capex was invested in supply chain technology infrastructure in recent years, which by its nature doesn’t drive sales compared to stores. Our capital focus is now on new stores and refurbishment, which will drive sales and, in time, profitability. Over the past year we have refreshed, without substantively altering our strategy. Our overarching ambition is for the Group to become the â€Å"Retailer of choice for all South Africans†. This builds on Pick n Pay and Boxer’s brand strength and strong store portfolio. Importantly this refreshed strategy does not represent a major departure from the strategy that has been followed for the past five years. We have seven themes geared to ensure that the business can grow sustainably and profitably. There is a balance of growth-driven priorities, focusing on space, customer, franchise and product, and those largely focused on improving efficiency such as replenishment and store operations. The â€Å"One Pick n Pay† initiative ties these together to ensure that the business works well as a unified whole. Strategic priority: Grow selling space ahead of the market There is substantial competition for retail space both within South Africa and in other African markets. Ensuring that Pick n Pay increases its overall share of trading space over the long term is an important strategic priority. Over the past three years our space growth has lagged that of our competition particularly into the faster growing lower income areas and small stores. This not only directly reduces our market share but also puts pressure on like-for-like sales growth. We will continue to develop store formats and channels that meet customers’ changing needs both in Pick n Pay and Boxer, in South Africa and beyond. Additionally we continue to build a pipeline of new sites, whether greenfield or through acquisition that will ensure we meet our aspirations. Strategic priority: Build deep customer relationships The launch of our customer rewards programme Smartshopper gives us a  significant opportunity to get to know our customers’ shopping habits and preferences substantially better than we do today. Since its launch in March 2011 the programme has been a great success. After just one year we now have over five million active cardholders, exceeding our initial target by two million. This enables us not only to know and understand each customer a great deal better, but to communicate with our customers in a different and more engaging manner. We have direct access to the vast majority of Smartshopper customers by either sms or email, which means that we can send targeted marketing communications directly to them. We can also ask for feedback directly from them. All of this translates into a very valuable two-way dialogue with our customers. As a result we are designing and executing marketing campaigns which are more relevant to our customers. We are extracting insights from their shopping habits data in order to tailor our product ranges and more accurately serve them. All of this will assist us in growing our sales volumes significantly. Strategic priority: Revolutionise Pick n Pay’s product offer During the past 12 months we have invested considerable time and resources in building a single specialised category buying division. Prior to the establishment of this division, Pick n Pay’s sourcing activities were distributed across the operating regions. This led to fragmentation of the Group’s buying scale, with each buyer having a wide range of products to source. Our new specialised category buying division is made up of category teams each of which is responsible for the end-to-end profitability of a specific product category. They are tasked with developing a product range that meets all customer needs, sourcing those products at the lowest possible cost, constructing shelf layouts that help customers find what they are looking for easily, building a promotional plan that generates customer excitement, increased volumes and higher margins, and ensuring that Pick n Pay’s prices remain hig hly competitive. Included in their responsibilities is the task of improving our Pick n Pay branded offer.

Monday, September 30, 2019

The Rugmaker of Mazar-E-Sharif

Mazari has been through all sorts of conflict throughout his lifetime from where he was a young boy minding sheep in Afghanistan to opening an authentic rug store in Australia. He first had a major loss happen to him when he was a young boy and his father was killed. This was a traumatic time for his family and there was a conflict within his family. When his father died, Najaf was forced to take on new responsibilities within the family and everyone had to do their part. When he was a young teenager his house was hit by a rocket causing major damage to his leg. His leg took over 6 months to heal properly and he was finding it difficult to cope in this time as he saw himself as a burden on his family which was a personal conflict. He has faced various conflicts during his time at Woomera detention centre, one of which was a religious conflict. Certain people could not talk to other people because of their religion. This made a somewhat difficult experience in his life even more difficult as he was continuously having trouble with other people because they believed in different gods. Finally when he was released and working freely in Australia he had conflicts at his work places. One of which was when he worked for a lady who was too demanding on him and he could not work to her expectations with him. This was a cultural conflict as he was not used to working under her conditions.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

How Poor Education, Dropouting Of School And The Environment Can Lead To Deviant Behavior

Deviant behavior can be described as unaccepted behavior devoid of moral values. These values and norms that a deviant (person with deviant behavior) possesses can either be acquired formally through the learning process. They can also be determined by environmental factors such as peer pressure, media, mentors, etc. Poor education denies a growing person the opportunity to make life out of learning. It therefore gives the persons an alternative of earning a living through criminal activities.When a poorly educated person meets with a harsh environment coupled with unemployment and other social-economical factors, their behaviors start to deviate from normal. HOW POOR EDUCATION AND NOT FINISHING SCHOOL COMBINED WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT CAN PUT CHILDREN AT A HIGHER RISK FOR DEVIANT BEHAVIOR Deviant behavior is first brought by lack of family values . A family plays a very significant role in reforming a person’s character. Institutions of learning also play a role in teaching peo ple what is good and what is bad; what ought to be done and what ought not be done etc.Incorporated in the syllabi of most education systems are theological studies. These gives out a lot of biblical teachings which if followed by an individual he/she would be unlikely to develop deviant behaviors. For instance, in the Biblical teaching, we learn that murder is morally wrong. When Cain killed Abel, he got a punishment from God. Also learnt is the fact that patience pays the same way Job was patient after suffering from a long time of sickness. The teaching here is that if one is suffering and does not have any hope, chances are that he might develop a deviant behavior.This then brings out the need to finish school and be able to get such biblical teachings. Teachers in schools are not only trained on how to disseminate education but also on how to mould the behavior of a child. A person’s behavior is for instance, greatly determined by the kind of teaching both from parents a nd teachers at a tender age. If one did not attend school or got inadequate education, their chances of growing defiantly get enhanced. He would not be able to co-operate and work well with others because these values can only be learnt in schools.Teachers in schools administer punishment against deviant behaviors, a factor that can discourage a child against misbehaving. Schooling also enables one to socialize freely with peers/people. This socialization is important as it inculcates self personality in a person. They realize the need consult when in problems. One with poor education or has just dropped out of college will miss this opportunity of freely mixing with others. As they grow they would tend to do things independently. Any piece of advice directed to them is likely to be welcomed by deviance.Without the acquisition of full knowledge, there are quite a number of values that a person may not learn. And lack of these norms lead a person into deviance. These are norms like c ommunication skills, thinking positively and ability to solve problems amicably. A person who has dropped out of school may employ mediocre methods to solve problems. In most cases, they do not adhere to the laid down rules and principles. They instead use force and physical confrontations to drive their points home. With the environmental challenges that they meet as a result early school drop outs, such people grow defiantly.This is because they missed the element of positive thinking learnt in schools. Poor education also makes one fall short of appreciating self as well as reality of the environment. This in the end frustrates and stresses them to the extent that they resort to drug abuse and alcoholism to relieve the stress and frustration. All these happen because school drop-outs do not have self efficacy. This is a scenario whereby one does not recognize / appreciate his worthness/ usefulness. As a result, they are not always happy people. They tend to dislike those who have better jobs and who are better placed in society.By doing so, they violate the societal norms and values. What children learn from their surrounding environment has a very strong correlation to the behavior they develop. A family especially the parents, play a pivotal role in determining what their offsprings would be like. If they solve their problems amicably and soberly, then the children would grow in the same way. They would in future tend to listen and accommodate the views of their colleagues, elders, their own spouses as well as their own children. But consider a family where the only solution to problems is divorce, separation i. e.there is no time for conflict resolution, so will the child develop a deviant behavior. Growing persons meet all sorts of environmental factors which will determine their behaviors in one way or the other. One of these factors is neglect. Neglect refers to that condition where children usually suffer as result of their parent’s actions. W ithin this definition of neglect are elements like sexual abuse, injuries (physical) and also abandonment. Statistics show that in America for instance, one million youths are abused every year. The ratio of boys sexually abused is one boy for every ten. For girls, it is one for every three.Sexual abuses can lead to such deviant behaviors such as stress, aggressiveness and low esteem. They become aggressive because they see everybody as the cause of their problems. They have a low self esteem because they see themselves as being different from others . Another environmental factor that can lead to deviant behavior is peer influence. An individual person is not born a criminal or with any other form of deviant behavior . These are moulded with the people one associates with as birds of the same feathers flock together. His/her surrounding environment is full of peers (people of almost equal age).Peers entice their colleagues behave in the same way as them. Peers incite into the viola tion of social values and breed behaviors like drug addiction and alcoholism. According to Edwin H. Sutherland in his book of Differential Association Theory, when individuals interact, they learn so much from each other. They communicate in ideas as well as symbols. When these ideas and symbols become favorable to an individual, certain defiance behavior would be inculcated in e. g. criminology peer pressure also makes the deviants to justify their deviant behaviors by not being guilty.They tend to deny any injury caused to a victim by alleging no one can be hurt through crime. They also deny the victim as they believe that the victim was not injured, rather he obtained the rightful force. Peer groups also make the deviants not to recognise the laws of the land. Instead, they would tell you to appeal to a higher power. But whether a person would be influenced by peers will greatly depend on his / her level of education. Unlike the educated, the uneducated stand as the more vulnerab le group to be indulged to these deviant behaviors.The media is another social agent that can favorably or unfavorably determine one’s behavior. The television for instance, presents different programs with different messages. But these should not be emulated unless they rhyme with moral values and norms. Some of these programs are just comedies. If one was poorly educated, he/ she may interpret these comedies to be reality shows. Some behaviors may be shown in these programs like aggressiveness of the actors, pride and dressing provocatively. Too much media can therefore make one easily acquire these deviant behaviors. Through the media again, companies advertise their products.The mode of advertisement characterized by cultural memes can significantly contribute to deviant behavior. This is because cultural memes tend to deteriorate societal norms and values. When one has not finished School, he/she is left with a lot of idle time ahead of him/her. This is the time the pers on starts engaging himself/herself in certain social evils that are unacceptable in society. Deviant behavior refers to any behavior that is not generally acceptable within the values of a given people and society. It is due to idleness that people take drugs, alcohol and involve themselves with all forms of promiscuity.Learning institutions also offer important behavior building programs through discussions on behaviors like drug usage/abuse . Here, important information on the dangers of such drugs that normally culminates into deviant behaviors by experts in the field. These workshops are used even to the highest educational levels like colleges and universities. They have greatly contributed in the relaxation / stagnation of deviant behavior. It is therefore inevitable for one to reach these high levels of education if reduction of deviant behavior is anything to go by. Poor education makes one not to appreciate his rights.He would not even know when his rights have been infring ed /violated. The environment is full of numerous agents of rights violations. It comprises of sadists and opportunists. There are people who like mis (using) / exploiting others for their own self interests. Majority of these are the politicians who incite the youth and entice them with money to engage in social injustices like violence. This in actual sense amounts to deviance as these are social conflicts not compatible with the values and norms of any modern society. CONCLUSION Institutions of learning mould behavior through education.And it is only through education that one can get to learn good moral values and norms. It is through education that one can also learn on how to live with society. Poor education therefore deprives one a lot of moral teachings and the opportunity to enjoy a peaceful co- existence with the rest in society. It does also not allow one to appreciate the environmental needs and challenges that greatly determine one’s behavior. Because of inadequ ate education, the environment becomes a harsh place to live in. One then resorts to alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual immorality and other sorts of deviant behavior in order to relieve the pressure.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Political Socialization Essay

Have you ever thought about why you have the political beliefs and values you do? Where did they come from? Are they simply your own ideas and experiences or have you been influenced by others in your thinking? This process by which individuals acquire their political beliefs and attitudes is called political socialization. In another words, Political socialization is a concept where the study of the developmental processes by which children and adolescents acquire political cognition, attitudes and behaviors. What people think and how they come to think it is of critical importance to the stability of the government. The beliefs and values of the people are the basis for a society’s political culture and that culture defines the parameters of political life and governments? action. There are many agents that influence in one degree or another individual’s political socialization. Factors such as: family, friends, teachers, media, religion, race, gender, age and geography all influence us in one way or another during our childhood years. By now you should know that most political opinions are formed during childhood and many political ideas are passed down from parents to their children through them expressing their beliefs. When I was growing up I formed many opinions and attitudes due to the fact my parents were feeling that way. Growing up during in early/mid 1990? s in Bosnia wasn? t easy. With a country in a full scale war people were looking for help. A country that just few years earlier hosted and showed the world a great Winter Olympic Games was in need of help, but no one answered. People started forming their own opinions and theories about the world that has turned their back on them, including my parents. There was very limited access of what was happening in the world available to the people. I can clearly remember trying to figure out what is happening on my own and listening to my parents and trying to form something out of it. I lived in Sarajevo, where it was impossible to get in or out the city for the first year or so. Even with the United Nations present in the city I always asked myself why don? t they end this? To this day, questions always reappear in my mind about the international polices and innerving in a war when so many people are dying. How many lives does it take before the world powers and the most honored world governments sit down and a peace treaty is signed? For me this experience made me establish my own opinions about government and political views. With my parents constantly debating about who started the war, why aren? t the Americans coming, where is the humanitarian aid and many other questions concerning government policies, made me favor what my parents were saying and agree with them. By 1995, most of the fighting has stopped and siege was over and school back in session. Now, more views were formed to enforce what I been hearing at home, but as well some made me look at things in a different as well. I started to develop my own thoughts that have been flooded with so much hate during my childhood. Schools played a really influential agent, after the family, due to the extended exposure to a variety of political beliefs. My friends and teachers, both respected sources of information in one way or another made me look at the world in a different way. I always to this date keep asking myself some of the same questions my parents debated about. I just can? t let it go. Why did so many people get shot, murdered, raped and killed in Srebrenica? In a U. N safe zone, but it still happened. School thought us the history and not to forget. With school back in session, so was the television, newspaper and other sources of mass media. Media took over and attempted to reshape what we all have experienced in the previews five years for the benefit of their own profit. Foreign investors came in and took advantage of others need at a very cheap cost. I remember, first commercial on the national television was about the new mall what was to replace the shelled down Olympic village and the new president was going to be at ceremony. New lottery game was advertised everywhere with faces of political party members. It like nothing has happening the year before. Another factors started to surface with me. Did a religion cause this terrible war? With so much talk about genocide and ethnic cleansing, religion was being though in school. At that time it was unbelievably hard to form your own opinions with so much information being fed to you by the mass media and government policies. Today, I look back to everything that has happened and how did I come to the thoughts and opinions I have about politics. Family was a primary influence in the development of my political orientation, mainly due to constant relationship between my parents and I. Schools became a source to enforce what I been hearing at home. Then Mass Media took over and tried to paint a picture of functions as a political information-giver to adolescents and young children. With placing political figures in everyday life and association with political parties, I can only imagine what their goal was. The earliest socialization I believed is the deepest one because i favored with what parents have been going along with. Their political party favor and mine today however now that I am old enough and been influenced by a different culture I am beginning to rethink many views on our world today.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Coke Star Musical Group Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coke Star Musical Group - Coursework Example Stressing upon the importance of user specific design Lazar (2001) states â€Å"A website is a type of information system and as such needs to be designed to meet the needs of the user. It must offer contents that users want and be designed so that users can easily access it in order for the website to be a success.† Keeping in view this heavy reliance of success on web design and user acceptability three users from major users groups were selected for an interview. These include the online viewer, online customer and future concert or musical show booking. The online viewer wants to have an explicit and systematic listing of all the performances by the group along with thumbnails and details like date of performance, venue, and length etc. The website is required to offer plug-ins required to play the selected performance, all related audio video controls, the fastest streaming and switching between performances. Online customer would like to have preview of what they have ordered and multiple easy payment options. The online customer may be required to select a delivery method or service. The third user has emphasized the need of a calendar of Coke Star future engagements in order to plan and reserve a date with the group. The user would like to receive an email confirmation of the booking along with other details. The exact requirement for the booking should be collect in a carefully designed web form. 3. Wire Frames 4. Target Users The Coke Star Musical Group website will be used by a number of user groups, each of these groups have their specific requirements, interests and goals. Ensuring the fulfillment of users’ expectations is a key to the successful web design and to clearly outline the user requirements following three personas are developed based on direct interview with the users; a) Online Viewer i. May be in any age bracket but mostly between 12-32 ii. The goal of the user is to find and listen his favorite music online iii. The interest of the user in to listen pop music and hit songs iv. The user will visit the site just to listen online free music v. The user may also visit to review the upcoming music albums and to learn about Coke Star upcoming performances. b) Online Customer i. May be in any age bracket but mostly between 12-32 ii. The goal of the user is to purchase CDs and DVDs of his choice iii. The interest of the user in to listen pop music and hit songs iv. The user will visit the site to buy music albums online v. The user may also visit to review the upcoming music albums and to learn about Coke Star upcoming performances. c) Event Manager i. May be in any age bracket but mostly between 22-45 ii. The goal of the user is to contact and confirm availability of Coke Star for a concert or musical show. iii. The user has business motivations and the nature of interaction is serious and straight forward. iv. The user will visit the site to confirm the availability of Coke Star v. To show his interest in a performance and to make a business contract. 5. Evaluation of Wire Frames I have selected the walk through technique to conduct a user centred evaluation of the Coke Star Website. Walkthrough evaluation is a simple and effective technique which can b e carried out with the help of a single user. The user is presented with an interface and is asked to perform a set of instructions on the interface. The same evaluation can be conducted on the wireframe sketches where user gives his feedback on what he can gather from the sketch. This user understanding can be collected