Gender Roles in Harry Potter

Girls in young adult fantasy novels tend to fare rather poorly, especially in the light of Susan from the Chronicles of Narnia. When  Aslan  admits the  Pevensies  into paradise, Susan is barred because she has forgotten Narnia and is more interested in stockings and the real adult world, because she has dared to want to grow up. Jill Pole comments: aâ‚ ¬? She’s interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitationsaâ‚ ¬? 1. C. S. Lewis presents a conservative view of girls in the fantasy genre, that they will be drawn into their own adolescent fantasies and will abandon the secondary world.Philip Pullman compounds this with his treatment of Lyra in the His Dark Materials trilogy where she is the protagonist in the first novel but cedes decision making and power to Will through the remaining narrative. Hermione Granger starts out challenging this conservative view but ultimately she is turned into a mother and sidelined from the world of action . Her role changes through the novel and this is not due merely to the maturation of the character as she ages but also the needs of the male dominated groups around her, from the school group with Harry and Ron to the Order of the Phoenix.A quick glance offers the view that between 11 and 15 she is more rebellious whilst between the ages of 16 and 17 she takes on a sisterly role before her final appearance as a mother. In the Harry Potter novels  Hermione  is variously a bookish individual who supports and guides Harry through her research and work. She is the dominant force in Harryaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s success until the sixth novel,  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, where her role as Harryaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s educator is taken by  Dumbledore. Eliza  Dresang  sees Hermione as being far more successful than she is made out to be by  Farah  Mendlesohn.Hermione gains agency and is able to take more control of her situation than  Mendlesohn  gives her credit for thro ugh her own actions, finding aâ‚ ¬? evidence in the text to be considerably more optimistic about Hermione’s self-determination than does Mendlesohnaâ‚ ¬? 2  through her determination about being sorted by the Hat and aâ‚ ¬? refuses to be deterred from her purposes, whether it be learning, admonishing about rules or †¦ championing the underdogaâ‚ ¬? 3. Mendlesohn comments that aâ‚ ¬? Hermione is accepted in the social structure of the school only because she is Harry’s friendaâ‚ ¬?   and that aâ‚ ¬? [r]adicalism, as embodied by Hermione, is irrational, ignorant, and essentially transientaâ‚ ¬? 5. Though her attempts at freeing the house-elves are doomed, she is more successful at galvanising her peers and enabling Harry’s success through her contributions. There is another issue to consider though and that is one of genre. The first five Harry Potter books are clearly school stories. Motifs, such as the annual arrival via the ste am train and the term times with the enforced stay over Christmas, come from this genre.Instead of only competing in sports for honour such as Quidditch, house points are awarded or taken away for behaviour or acts of bravery. In the final two novels, the structure of the novels change to being a more conventional fantasy series wherein Harry must defeat  Voldemort in a final conflict. This switch to the fantastic, in particular a male dominated fantastic world, means that Hermione must change roles to remain in the world since we rarely see any lone witches who have not turned to Voldemort such as Bellatrix Lestrange. This change of genre changes the expectations placed on the characters by readers and the roles which they play.School stories, in the mould of Enid Blyton’s  Malory  Towers or  St Clare’s,  offer  the reader a tale of a group of children who go on adventures limited in scale by location, an isolated school, and time, terms end and the year i s punctuated by holidays. They offer a degree of  carnivalesque  expressed in the capers of the students which are tamed by the teachers but also a continuing discourse of maturation and acculturation to the wider adult world which must be entered. Parents exist at the edge of the story, referred to in letters or bringing their children to school.Once the anarchic time at school comes to an end, the parents represent the roles that the children will adopt. The fantastic world that Rowling constructs is one which begins as potentially subversive with Hermione challenging perceived wrongs and gaining a more powerful agency in the world through her knowledge. As she matures, the world is fully extended past Hogwarts and becomes deeply conservative and male dominated and Hermione has to re-ascertain her social standing on the edge of the group, her enabling agency now of no direct use to Harry.Hermione matures in the series changing from the shy, bookish outsider to being, in effect , a big sister character to Harry and Ron but at the cost of her own agency and talents. As she matures into this role, she changes from being an inquisitive person, pushing her own bounds of knowledge and even her sanity, to being slightly calmer but clearly not of equal standing with Ron and Harry who are allowed to take active roles into world. When we first meet Hermione on the train going to  Hogwarts, Rowling presents her an unkempt, exploring child unafraid to make new friends or to go up and visit the train driver.She is described as having aâ‚ ¬? a bossy voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teethaâ‚ ¬? (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, p 79) and already wearing the school colours. She interrupts Ron and Harry who are tucking into a carriage way feast of sweets. Curious, she challenges Ron to show him the magic trick which he is attempting. As the train approaches the station, she encourages the two boys to don their robes and questi ons whether they have been fighting already. Her drive towards perfection is shown in her encyclopaedic knowledge of the school drawn from reading the history.Already knowing the reason for the enchanted ceiling, she attains a position in the newly formed social triumvirate as the knowledge repository. Hermione comes back from the school holidays a day early whilst the friends are trying to find out who Nicholas  Flamel  is and is aâ‚ ¬? torn between the horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed†¦ and disappointment that he hadn’t at least found out who Nicholas Flamel wasaâ‚ ¬? (Philosopher’s Stone,  p158). Her curiosity and good behaviour are at odds since she is aware that the answer may well lie in the forbidden section of the library but that entry  transgresses  the school rules.Although it is Harry who discovers Flamel by accident on the back of the collector’s card he got on the train, it is Hermione who links him to the Philosoph er’s Stone through a book she got aâ‚ ¬? out of the library weeks ago for a bit light reading aâ‚ ¬? (Philosopher’s Stone, p. 161). Ron’s only comment, aâ‚ ¬? Light? aâ‚ ¬? (Philosopher’s Stone, p. 161), a suggestion that knowledge is not highly prized in Hogwarts as opposed to  Quidditch. It was Hermione who noticed that Fluffy was standing on the trapdoor (Philosopher’s Stone, p120), a fact that both Ron and Harry missed. Yet her achievements come at a social price.Hermione’s adherence to the school rules is shown inPhilosopher’s Stone  after the finding of the trapdoor at night. When Harry receives a new broom after the destruction of his old one, her comments aâ‚ ¬? So I suppose you think that’s a reward for breaking rules? aâ‚ ¬? (Philosopher’s Stone  p. 123). Her forthrightness about the midnight incident is tempered by the argument with Ron and Harry. She is clearly upset by their reaction which is made worse by Ron’s careless comment about her not having any friends. Rushing past Harry, he notices that she is crying (Philosopher’s Stone  p. 127).When the troll is announced, both boys realise that it has gone to the girls’ toilets where Hermione is trapped. When Professor McGonagall enters, Hermione lies to protect them all and claims that she wanted to tackle the troll herself. Although this means that aâ‚ ¬? from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friendaâ‚ ¬? (Philosopher’s Stone, p. 132), she can only do so by lying to a teacher and so overturns her previous rigid adherence to rules. She has to adopt the boys own world view. In  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione offers to make the Polyjuice Potion to see what Malfoy knows about the chamber’s opening.She tricks  Lockhart  into signing a slip for ‘Most  Potente  Potions’ to fool the Librarian (Chamber of Secrets, p. 124). Wh en Ron says that they will need to steal from Professor Snape’s private stores, she retorts: aâ‚ ¬? Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine†¦Ã‚  I  don’t want to break the rules you know. aâ‚ ¬? (Chamber of Secrets, p. 125). Hermione is aware that they have already obtained a permission slip that Lockhart has signed without realising what it is (using his own arrogance), that the recipe relies upon illicit goods and that the boys cannot discover Malfoy’s perceived role without trickery.Despite her protestations about the rules, she is aware that these will need to be broken to be successful. When they come to making the potion, the group need parts of their victims and Hermione is too hasty in taking some hair from Millicent  Bulstrode  in Wrestling and accidentally turns herself into a cat much to Myrtle’s delight, aâ‚ ¬? Wait till everyone finds out you’ve got a  tailaâ‚ ¬? (Chamber of Secrets, p. 169). Whilst Ron and Harry have used her Sleeping Potion to knock out  Crabbe  and  Goyle, Malfoy’s henchmen, Hermione’s own attempt has backfired and so she is unable to help get information from Malfoy.Her overachievement turns her into a figure of fun. Although she is able to assimilate Harry and Ron’s worldview into her own perceptions, she is unable to fully join their world although she is the enabler for their plans through the potion and the linking together of the clues in  Philosopher’s Stone. Her overachievement comes to a head in the  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of  Azkaban  when she is given the use of the Time-Turner. In Snape’s Potions class, Neville is aided by Hermione to perfect the Shrinking Solution but when Ron and Harry turn to challenge her after the deduction of points, she disappears only to reappear a few minutes ater with her bag falling apart through weight of books. When she brushes off Ron’s challenge about the contents, he muses aâ‚ ¬? Do you get the feeling Hermione’s not telling us something? aâ‚ ¬? (Prisoner of Azkaban, p. 99). Clearly Hermione is unable to tell the boys about Professor  McGonagall’s  gift of the Time Turner. In the Defence against the Dark Arts exam, Hermione comes into contact with the  Boggartand after aâ‚ ¬? a minute inside it [the  Boggart's  trunk], she burst out again, screamingaâ‚ ¬? (Prisoner of Azkaban, p. 234).The Boggart, which presents worst fears, has suggested to her that Professor McGonagall will fail her in an exam, so her fears of academic and also personal failure come to the fore. Ron is still inclined to laugh at Hermione’s fear since he will not excel academically. Despite their close bond, Hermione’s academic achievements have always separated her from the boys. It is only when the situation demands that time is altered that she is able to tell Harry. When they fail to saveBuckbeak  the first ti me,  Dumbledore  suggests to Hermione that the situation can be saved by going backwards and Hermione confesses to Harry, aâ‚ ¬?I’ve been using it all year to get to all my lessonsaâ‚ ¬? (Prisoner of Azkaban, p. 289) but she still cannot work out why Dumbledore has suggested going back three hours. It is up to Harry to formulate the plan to save the  Hippogriff  and Sirius. Once again, Hermione’s mental achievements enable Harry but she is unable to complete the reasoning for the shift in time. Hermione proves herself via her academic prowess and enables Harry and Ron to complete various challenges. She is the person to whom the boys go when they have difficulties with the homework. Lupin praises her  as the aâ‚ ¬? inest witch of her ageaâ‚ ¬? (Prisoner of Azkaban, p 253)  in the Shrieking Shack  as she becomes hysterical at his perceived betrayal of her loyalty, aâ‚ ¬? I didn’t tell anyone†¦ I’ve been covering up for you aâ‚ ¬? (Prisoner of Azkaban, p 253). Her need to prove herself academically is challenged and Ron’s reaction is to want to laugh. Despite her achievement and regular help for Harry and Ron, it is only the teachers who really prize her accomplishments. She is the character most likely to fail through overachievement. Her role is clearly defined in the school story as the swot.The school story genre allows her this room as a defined role but it she must adapt when the genre changes to a conservative high fantasy wherein gender roles are somewhat different. During the  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she reverts to the quiet studious Hermione of the first novel when Harry gets the  magicked  version of the potions book. As Harry falls under its spell and useful marginalia, she becomes increasingly exasperated at his lack of work or effort in the class commenting aâ‚ ¬? Well, it wasn’t exactly your own work, was it? aâ‚ ¬? (Half-Blood Prince, p 182). She and Ginny are protective of Harry and test the spell book which he has picked up, though they do not see the inscription claiming it is the property of the Half-Blood prince. With the aid of Ginny Weasley, she also defends him during the setting up of the self-help Dark Arts group, the  acronymed  DA, in  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Gathering the curious students together in the Hog’s Head, she comments aâ‚ ¬? well I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands†¦ And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spellaâ‚ ¬? Half-Blood Prince, p 303). Though she is instrumental in gathering the class, she immediately reverts to her supporting role and allows Harry to discuss the events at the end of  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Firewhere he met the revived Voldemort. Her tenure as Prefect in  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  shows her stopping the  Weasley  twins from recruiting junior members of the school to test their joke wares,  saying aâ‚ ¬? I told you this morning, you can’t test your rubbish on students! aâ‚ ¬? (Order of the Phoenix, p 229) whilst Ron, her fellow Prefect, looks on from the side.Although she is active in keeping the more extreme elements of the carnivalesque from taking over the school in the form of the Weasley brother’s joke wares, it does mark the apogee of the progression from swot to Prefect in the school novel. Though these roles are usually played by various characters in the school story genre, Rowling has rolled them into one person who exemplifies the qualities of Hogwarts and, in particular,  Gryffindor. Though Hermione is keen on the maintenance of the status quo, she becomes increasingly vocal against the abuse of power in two areas.She has mixed success but it allows her to retain her role in the social cohesion of the friendship group and to begin organising ot hers in the school. Firstly she challenges a perceived abuse of the house elves by the  wizarding  classes and sets up the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare, SPEW. This act comes after  Dobby  is freed by Harry in  Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets. Hermione starts knitting hats to free the elves from their slave positions at Hogwarts inOrder of the Phoenix  and when challenged about this by Ron, exclaims aâ‚ ¬? Of course they want to be free! aâ‚ ¬? (Order of the Phoenix, p 230).Whilst it may mirror  Rowling’s  own time working for Amnesty International, she undermines Hermione by having Dobby pick up all the hats as the elves are offended by them. Though she gains the partial support of Dumbledore as he explains to Harry that he had encouraged  Sirius  to treatKreacher  with kindness  (Order of the Phoenix, p 733),  Ron and Harry dismiss her efforts. To an extent, she loves hopeless causes and sets out to free the elves despite t heir reluctance to change their positions. Secondly, she attacks the misuses of authority by teachers, such as Severus Snape and Dolores  Umbridge.In  Prisoner of  Azkaban, Snape takes over Lupinaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s classes while he recovers from his change. Ignoring the class protests he begins to set them work which will provide clues to Lupinaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s condition and Hermione protests  (Prisoner of Azkaban, p128) which encourages Ron to defend her and receive detention. She becomes increasingly agitated by  Snapeaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s  manner and challenges him through questions. Though she has been able to answer the questions that he puts to the class since the first book, earning his contempt, she now uses these as a challenge to his authority through passive disruption.In  Order of the Phoenix, Dolores Umbridge attempts to run a school based on the traditional school model of learning the theory of Defence against the Dark Arts rather than practical lessons. Hermione listens to  Umbridgeaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s  long speech which sets out the rationale for the coming changes. During the first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson she immediately questions  Umbridgeaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s  passive stance through using Umbridge’s insistence on pupils raising their hands to ask questions (Order of the Phoenix, p 217-218). Asking the question, she repeats herself when the answer is not forthcoming.Hermione continues this with the creation of the Dark Arts or  Dumbledoreaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s  Army group. As Umbridge tries to crack down on any nascent dissent against the Ministry of Magicaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s policy, Hermione comes up with the plan of setting a group to rectify the lack of practical training. Facing the belief that Harry killed  Cedric,  fuelledby the Daily Prophet, she motivates the students to come together and to learn practical defence. As she does this she comments aâ‚ ¬? d’you know †¦ I think I’m feeling a bi t  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ rebelliousaâ‚ ¬? (Order of the Phoenix, p 559).Rather than continuing her challenge to misplaced authority, once the school story ends, she moves towards the role of the sister. Whilst on the run from the Ministry of Magic in  Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsHarry confesses to Ron that Hermione is aâ‚ ¬? like a sister,aâ‚ ¬? he went on aâ‚ ¬? I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same about meaâ‚ ¬? (Deathly Hallows, p308). To some degree she follows the path of  Lyrain Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy where the she develops her challenges early on but end up giving up independence.Before she meets Will, Lyra is free to challenge the authority figures around her but after the meeting, when Will is cooking an omelette, he commands aâ‚ ¬? ’Find a couple of plates’ he said, and Lyra obediently did soaâ‚ ¬? (The Subtle Knife  p 25). After the defeat of Voldemort, we see her and Ron on Platf orm 9 A? s waving their children off on the Hogwarts express. The action occurs around Harry and Ron with Hermione chiding them when they see Scorpius, Draco’s son, with aâ‚ ¬?Don’t try to turn them against each other before they’ve even started schoolaâ‚ ¬? (Deathly Hallows, p605). She is keen to maintain stability in the world for the children. As she develops into adolescence, she moves away from her rebellious side straight into motherhood, so avoiding Susan’s fate in the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’. Though she moves into adolescence, she is faithful to Ron, declaring her love for him in the  Deathly Hallows. Despite Lupin’s proclamation of her talent, we finally see Hermione taking her children to platform 9 A?.She avoids Susan’s banishment from the magical world because she cares for her friends and, ultimately, children and is not selfish as Susan is implied to be by Aslan in the quotation at the beginning of this essa y. Yet it seems a poor fate for all her achievements. The boarding school genre allows Hermione to excel academically and be an equal to Harry and Ron. She develops and is capable of taking on teaching duties and, it would appear, likely to follow  Minerva  McGonagallas the archetypal spinster teacher. She is the archetypal swot who becomes Prefect as she gets to the end of her school years.Her insistence upon hardwork and her dislike of cheats, even if they are her friends, show Hermione’s dedication to maintaining order, though not at any price. She also takes on what appear to be hopeless causes, the release of the elves and then challenges against misused authority, despite the ridicule of her peers. Hermione stands against inequality and tries to effect change. Dumbledore is the only person who backs her stance, and this is only very partially, as he explains to Harry. Dealing with her own social group, she is more effective in galvanising her peers into forming the Dark Arts group.Yet she is on the edge of the social group. On the train to Hogwarts, it is Harry who accepts her into the nascent group and then more firmly once the troll is defeated in the bathrooms. Once the  OWLs  have been taken, Hermione moves away from being the bright academic, her role in helping with Ron and Harry finishing their homework redundant, to being involved in maintaining the group with Ron and Harry through her caring for both boys. It is only Hermione who can cope with the real world of Oxford Street before they manage to get into more magical territory.The school narrative allows Hermione to blossom as an individual as the closed world of Hogwarts bars the real world and gives her space as a person. Once the real world begins to encroach, she begins to move away from her academic achievements and into the big sister role. At one level Rowling sees Hermione as a caricature of her school memories but at another, the Harry Potter series fails to address the idea that girls can do more than become mothers or spinster teachers. In Narnia thePevensie  children are either kept in childlike paradise away from ever growing up or they are ejected from paradise for thinking of the adult world.In ‘His Dark Materials’, Lyra moves from challenging the misplaced authority of Mrs  Coulter  and Lord  Asriel  to leaving Will to make all the decisions. Hermione’s own contributions to the group come through enabling Harry to complete tasks with the requisite knowledge that she can find or discern. Once the fight against Voldemort moves into Harry’s own history, only Dumbledore can help Harry. Whilst on the run in  Deathly Hallows, it is Hermione who tries to keep the group together and to work out Dumbledore’s final clue in the book of fairy tales. She is a catalyst for those around her and remains sidelined.Whilst she shows that she can develop herself against  Mendlesohn’s  analysis through her own talent,Dresang’s  assertion that Hermione gains strength through empowering others is shown to only be partial; she sacrifices her individual power and role to help recreate a safe world. Once she has enable Harry, Rowling moves her into a maternal role, her highest honour. It short changes the Witch that Lupin described as the brightest of her age. Bibliography Jackson, Rosemary,  Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion  (Routledge, London, 1981) Lewis, C. S. ,  The Last Battle(Harper Collins, London, 2005)Moorcock, Michael,  Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Romance  (Gollancz, London, 1987) Pullman, Philip,  The Subtle Knife  (Scholastic, London, 1997, 2001 reprint) Rotruck, Amie Rose, ‘Where Have All the Tomboys Gone? : Female Figures in British Children’s Fantasy Series’ in  Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction  Volume 32, Number 88, Summer 2003 Rowling, J. K. , Harry Potter and the Philosopherâ€℠¢s Stone (Bloomsbury, London, 1997) Rowling, J. K. ,  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  (Bloomsbury, London, 1998) Rowling, J. K. ,  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  (Bloomsbury, London, 1999) Rowling, J.K. ,  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  (Bloomsbury, London, 2000) J. K. Rowling,  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  (Bloomsbury, London, 2003) Rowling, J. K. ,  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince  (Bloomsbury, London, 2005) Rowling, J. K. ,  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow  (Bloomsbury, London, 2007) Reynolds, Kimberley (ed),  Modern Children’s Literature: An Introduction  (Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2005) Whited, Lana A (ed),  Harry Potter and the Ivory Tower: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon  (University of Missouri Press, Columbia, 2004)

Persuasive essay on school uniforms Essay

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Art in general - Essay Example The cave paintings and drawings of the ancient civilisations and the various forms of artefacts that have been dug out from the ruins of ancient civilisations, are very good examples of this. These show very good proof that; even the people from those days were interested in art and its various forms. As per the varieties of art almost all the fields ranging from paintings to the areas of literature and music, are all considered to fall under the category of art. Indeed to the practicing artist and the sculptors or any individual who indulges in the creation of art and its various forms, it is a wonderful medium to express what is hidden within them. Hence art is considered by the experts, as the one which stimulates the inner feelings and brings out the hidden emotions, of both its creator and also its onlookers. For many art is a form of happiness and pleasure, that takes them to an imaginative field, where they are free from all worldly troubles. Because of this many people who ca nnot create forms of art but appreciate art, tend to buy pieces of art for their homes and work places. In today’s world because of this trend, buying works of art have become a very lucrative and serious business. The artists, painters and sculptors stand to benefit from this growing trend of art business, which enables them to make a living and some of them even reap millions. Art in recent years have become very good medium for investment. The paintings and sculptures, which are produced by the great masters, are today auctioned at the various auction houses spread across the world, for billions of dollars. Through the business of art, people are now indeed making a fortune. People who indulge in any form of art are considered to be highly talented, since they give freedom and form to their hidden energies. It is for this reason that, almost any person who indulges in any form of art is considered in high esteem by the public. Experts believe that almost all the human bein gs have the talent to create art forms. But it is only the individuals who put in efforts to bring out their creativity, who are able to express the art forms in reality. The practice of art is in itself a very time consuming process and in most cases it is through years of dedication, which makes individuals to become true masters of the art forms, they practice. For this very reason, most of the individuals in today’s world find art as a mere wastage of time, energy and money. But this very thought is not correct, since it helps an individual to master the inner self, through the medium of art. In today’s fast paced life indulgence in art is very important as per many experts, since they believe that, it helps the people to relax and help them to take a break from the vagaries of modern life. This is the main reason that, most of the schools and colleges in the world today make it a point to conduct classes and sessions of art for the students, so as to make them awa re regarding the world of art. It is through such initiation that, many highly talented artists take roots by understanding its hidden secrets. Thus such students get exposed to the art field and they become drawn to the medium of art. Among them many become art teachers and dedicate themselves to teaching the various art forms, to the future generations. Art has indeed

Information Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information Technology - Assignment Example This mode of operation allows nodes on the wireless network to communicate directly to each other. Infrastructure mode in better compared to the alternative ad-hoc wireless networks because it offers scalability, security management at a central point and improves the reach. While AP devices are seem as the only shortcoming of this infrastructure mode of operation. Question 2 The node does not need to be mobile because the internet through the access point has only one IP address. The node becomes mobile if the IP address and the name changes and this happens in new locations. If the laptop user accesses the internet through the same AP then he/she is still within the same location. Dynamic Host Configuration (DHCP) could be used to solve the mobility of a node where new IP address is acquired in new location. Question 3 a. X(t) will continue to come in order to fill the client buffer, the received TCP buffer will be drained at a rate of d by the client application after the client b uffer has been filled by the incoming buffer from the server buffer. The client will therefore store the received data without playing it back immediately as it receives it this provides a playout delay. The data is played from the buffer allowing the received data to fill the back up of the buffer. The playout delay is increase by accumulating more data in the buffer before playing it. Unusual delay of the playout results to data in the buffer dipping more than usual than the refilled data. Therefore the client buffer evolves with the buffering and playout delays in addition to delays by the network. When considering switching from TCP to UDP sound quality should be a factor because TCP gives better sound quality than UDP. Question 4 a. When a high priority packet arrives during the transmission of a low priority packet, preemptive scheduling occurs. There is an interruption of lower priority packet while higher priority packet is transmitted in full. Preemptive scheduling does not make sense in networks since it wastes a lot of bandwidth given that the lower packet is partially received which does not make sense. In the figure assume that packets 1, 3, and 4 are of higher priority while 2 and 5 are of lower priority the transmission of packets will be interrupted if the higher priority packets arrive before the completion of lower priority packets. In a preemptive priority queuing the packets of higher-priority will be send first before the transmission of lower priority packets hence packets 1,3,4,2 then 5 sequence will be followed. b. Delay play-out is used to compensate delays in the network and the jitters delay in the transmission of the packets. References Alvarez-Cuevas F, Bertran M, Oller F, Selga JM (1993) Voice synchronization in packet switching networks. IEEE Networks Mag 7(5):20–25 Yajnik M, Kurose J, Towsley D: Packet loss correlation in the Mbone multicast network. In: Proceedings of IEEE Global Internet Mini-Conference, Part of GLOBECO M ’96, London, England, pp 94–99 E. Shim and R. Gitlin, â€Å"NeighborCasting: A fast handoff mechanism in wireless IP using neighboring foreign agent information,† presented at the New York Metro Area Networking Workshop, New York,

Corporate Social Responsibility - example of a specific organization Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility - example of a specific organization that is building the future urban configuration of cities - Essay Example In Australia, air pollution costs are already very high. Human costs of health are estimated are approximately A$3 billion to A$5.3 billion each year with annual damages to materials, buildings, and property at between 3 and 5 billion Australian dollars, which is 1% of GDP (Ercoskun, 2012: p33). The biggest cause of pollution in the country is cars. Since most people in Australia do not use public transport and are reliant on their cars for transport, the country is among the highest polluter, per capita, in the world. Urban designs have a powerful impact on the quality of air, as well as exposing the population to pollutants. This results in most cities becoming unsustainable, both environmentally and economically. As pollution increases, living in these cities become worse. Most people in Australia have accepted driving to work over long distances and urban sprawl as a way of life. However, this may change because of the threat to supply of oil and increase in its price, enhancemen t of the greenhouse effect, and threat to their health because of poor quality of air (Gibson, 2011: p51). CSIRO has examined various alternatives in the evaluation of their capacity to reduce atmospheric pollution like emissions of greenhouse gases and energy consumption. In the past, similar inquiries have had their basis on subjective assessments concerning city planning and its impact on energy consumption and air quality. However, the magnitude order between various types of city structure has not undergone evaluation in many places, in the world. Integrated air-shed models, transport emissions, and land use that use advanced urban design software and spatial planning assisted researchers in the exploration of the effects that alternative transport, workplace, and residential structures could have on consumption of energy and urban air quality to 2011 (Gibson, 2011: p52). CSIRO examined six alternative future urban scenarios. The first was business as usual with extrapolation o f the current patterns to the future, which are dispersed, low density, and laissez faire. The second alternative was edge city with increased housing densities, population, and employment at elected nodes in the city, as well as increased investment that link edge cities via orbital freeways (Gibson, 2011: p55). The third alternative was corridor cities that focus on linear corridor growth that start from the CBD with support from upgraded public infrastructure. Fringe cities are the fourth alternative that involves additional growth that predominates on the city fringes. Finally, ultra cities involve additional growth that is predominant in provincial cities that lie within 100 km of the capital and are linked via high-speed trains. These urban configurations were applied by CSIRO to Melbourne City based on increased populations from 2.5 to 3.0 million by the year 2013 (Gibson, 2011: p56). Key assumptions in this included increment of residential density, a full uptake of controls of vehicle emissions, a varying ratio concerning private and public transport, and an increase in telecommuting, in specific industries. The results were dramatic in how they impact on quality of urban air. There are several worst-case scenarios identified by CSIRO. Photochemical smog can possibly decrease by 55%

Article Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Article Report - Essay Example As it is, therefore, a person’s career is a key life constituency evolving around work and time. Apart from the provision of income, work offers a sense of purpose, challenge and self-fulfillment. It is a source of interactive life challenges via social networking that often powers on creativity with a sense of identity as an end result. Quite simply, career is a life journey with either the choice of a beaten path or another to navigate (Baruch, 2004). Andolsen’s article entitled â€Å"Six Steps to Your Successful Career Path† is an informative, career guide that engenders navigation principles of self-assessment, decision making and life planning towards a successful career path for RIM professionals. Notably, the multifaceted approach of the modern career training is pushing the employer to the periphery out of the mainstream control of employee-skills (Baruch, 2003). The circumstantial phenomenon leaves â€Å"expertise† as the most treasured and sought-after strategic resource by the employer (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 2002; Andolsen, 2008). With a background of â€Å"a dusty filing system†, the scarcity of the prized resource has informed a structured career path for RIM practitioners aimed at attaining relevance in an era of a digitized managerial control. In a bid to start off RIM practitioners towards the foregoing painstaking journey, Andolsen provides a useful six-step career planning framework ful ly fitted with self-evaluative mechanisms for a dynamic career prospects (Andolsen, 2008). Career is essentially a â€Å"vehicle† for the realization of the self. More accurately, it is a vehicle through which the individual begins a constructive conception of the self in the sense of the world (Adamson, 1997). It is no wonder, therefore, that the interrogation of the self begins the Andolsen’s six-step career planning framework

Solar Power Sustainability UAE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Solar Power Sustainability UAE - Essay Example From the law of conservation, it is explicitly stated that energy is neither created nor destroyed. This law simply means that energy is bale to change the state, but it cannotbe destroyed. How to handle energy wastes is the key factor that calls for environmental protection. In Dubai and UAE, solar energy is a potential source of energy. It is because of the extreme hot climatic condition in United Arab Emirates, and the sun is always available. According to reports, UAE is the leading in cleaner energy production. Most countries rely on non-renewable sources of energy like the petroleum products, fossil fuels and trees (Goal#5). These non-renewable sources of energy are the leading contributors of the greenhouse gases that are affecting the environment at large through causing global warming and climate change. Also, the nonrenewable sources of energy are not sustainable because they can be depleted because of the increasing demand. Scientists say that the available fuel may not be able to support the future generation because the degree at which they are being exploited is higher than the rate at which the earth can generate more fossil. According to projections that have been done by experts, solar energy can help UAE to save billions of money. The DEWA, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, has been supplying hydroelectric power to a population greater than, 600,000 citizens. Due to the increasing human population, the demand for power has risen and water source for energy is not able to supply enough electricity without rationing. Due to this power supply constraint, there was a proposal for shifting the energy source to solar energy. The solar energy supply was established in 2008, April with an objective of reducing the usage of other energy sources(Gordon, 2001). This project was geared towards supporting sustainability in harvesting natural resources from the environment. Basically,

Kants philosophy of universalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kants philosophy of universalisation - Essay Example Kant’s notion of universalisation refers to the moral law which inspires and teaches us how to consider it as the ultimate truth of the possibility of moral obligation, since it cannot be explained with reference to any object of the will, or in accordance with any law of nature. What Kant believes is the significance of good will in universalism so that every individual act should be performed not as a duty, but as a moral deed in accordance with the universal moral law that the autonomous human being freely gives itself. One of the main reasons that justify Kant’s philosophy to treat and understand humanity as a rational agency allows an individual to maintain transparency by keeping his heart and soul clear from the malice. This way an individual values his or her morals and is able to perform his worldly duties without any obligation. Kant believe this as the only way to assure oneself of the necessary obligations involved in moral values which upholds a possibility for the individual to work under the pure concept of universality. This gives a sense of believe to the person that some particular action can acquire the strict universality required to explain its unconditional necessity. Ethics provides opportunity to the individual to believe in virtue, that is what Kant believes that ethical universalism supports ethical reasoning that allows autonomous authority to every individual to adopt the principles based on ethical values to lead a simple but effective life. (O'Neill, 2005). There are reasons that help in justifying our inner selves, this way justification is done with reasoning, rather than solely maxims that hollow our principles without reasoning. Checking our moral judgements In order to seek justification for morality for every person in our society, there is a certain criteria reserved as the role model of moral law. This criteria serves by means of which we can check our inner moral judgements, that is, our judgements to 'must' act or 'must not' to act in certain ways. Now, how to assume or believe our judgement depends upon the 'maxim' of the action what Kant has proposed. That is our 'right' judgement can be perceived as a universal law without contradiction, and in order to provide reasoning to believe that our judgement is correct, we feel the need to judge in our inner self the state of being 'correct' or ;incorrect' in our moral decisions. If some thing gets wrong or one feels that some act cannot be perceived correct or moral, the best indicator is the inner conscience. Since maxim is not that matters as it cannot be willed as a universal law, this gives us the reason to believe that this verdictive judgement is correct (Lake 2000:5). Morality close to universalism Good morals is all that matters, this illustration of Kant can be analysed by the notion that a person having good morals would not hesitate what he or she should solely because his or her maxim can be willed as a universal law without contradiction. Secondly it is not necessary for that person to built maxims, as action speaks louder than words. Moral person's morality is motivated and universalised by his or her deeds, for this reason a morally good person does what he or she should tends to be identical with the normative reason to do such act. Morality provides reasons to believe, it allows our deeds to seek and get an answer whenever justification requires, and therefore it teaches us to give equal respect to the autonomy of everyone. Following this it turns out to consider only those actions that are obligatory on every individual and those which can be

Maryland's Ecosystems and Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Maryland's Ecosystems and Environment - Essay Example Maryland’s Local and Surrounding Ecologies and Environments In an article entitled â€Å"Maryland’s Environment: A 20,000 Year History of Change† published online, it was revealed that the state exhibits an ecologically diverse landscape accurately described to include river systems in areas such as the Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware River, and the Ohio River drainages; mountain ranges; granite bedrocks; unconsolidated sediments; among others (Maryland's Environment, n.d.). Likewise, it was also noted from the discourse that Maryland’s flora share the same diversity as these evolved from growth spurring from a variety of soils, climates and the state’s local hydrology (Maryland's Environment: A 20,000 Year History of Change, n.d.). In another published report, the ecologies and environments at Maryland were also described as varying natural resources from oceans, barrier islands, beaches, tide marshes, estuaries, low-lying farmlands, rolling hills, mo untain ranges, valleys and plateaus (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2003). Specific Factors that Distinguish Maryland’s Ecology and Environment From the historical background, it was evident that the specific factors that distinguished Maryland’s ecology and environment include: large scale, massive climatic change, human settlers and their changes in adapting and adjusting to the environment, and contact and colonization of North America, among others. As emphasized, there was manifested destruction in habitat due to hunting activities that were found to be unregulated. In addition, other factors such as â€Å"increased competition from introduced exotic species and diseases resulted in the wholesale decline in wilderness-dependent species and a corresponding rise in species that favored agricultural landscapes and human habitation sites. This decline and loss has significantly disturbed Maryland’s ecological balance† (Maryland's Environment: A 20,000 Year History of Change, n.d., p. 10). How Human Activities have Affected Maryland’s Ecosystems Human activities have affected Maryland’s ecosystems through an interplay of related acts of men; ranging from the basic physiological needs (food, clothing, shelter) to improving sources of livelihood and transportation. As population increased, the local natural resources were utilized to the point of exploiting their maximum potentials. This fact was corroborated by the Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources which identified tremendous increases in population and in converting land uses from agricultural to industrial have significantly affected and altered the original state of Mayland’s natural resources and ecosystems. As revealed, from the reported historical events of Maryland, the description of the natural environment included â€Å"a rich estuary flanked by marsh and swamplands, intertwining waterways, a gentle plain of locally-diverse f orests, and a network of human communities concentrated in riverside villages where Native Americans plied waterways and trails and managed hunting grounds, nut groves, and gardens† (Maryland's Environment, n.d., p. 7). Ways that Global Warming might Affect Maryland’s Ecosystems According to the report published by the National Audubon Society (2012), global warming significantly affects all facets of human life, including the lives of other organisms,

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Essay All typical detective stories have features in common. They all contain a detective, also the stories contain a crime and a criminal, also in typical detective stories the criminal usually has a motive. Another detail in a murder story is: the detective always begins an investigation and this leads to the discovery of the criminal.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes were set and written in Victorian England by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Hound of the Baskervilles is about a big black vicious hound that is haunting the Baskerville Family and after the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville; the legend of the hound was revived. A man goes to tell Holmes and Watson. Holmes and Watson take up the case. The Speckled Band is about a woman who tells Holmes that her sister has died. The woman thinks its her stepfather, Dr Roylott. She believes that he has killed her for her inheritance  The Man With The Twisted Lip is about a woman who sees her husband in a window of an opium den and goes in to see him but he isnt there. She asks Holmes to investigate.  Sherlock Holmes stories are unusual in that they are not written from the detectives point of view. It is written from Dr Watsons point of view. This means that the reader knows the events as they are happening and doesnt know what the detective is going to do next. This enhances the murder mystery quality because the reader wants to know what happens next and it builds suspense with the reader Typical Sherlock Holmes crime settings are normally dark, damp and gloomy places. These are normally places such as dark alleyways and streets. Also big stately homes made to look like eerie haunted places. Another setting is out on the moors in Hound of the Baskervilles, the moors are foggy and it is usually raining.  The Manor House settings used in the Hound of the Baskervilles and The Speckled Band contain large portraits on the walls of large old rooms. They also contain old wooden doors that creak as they open and the doors lead into large open passageways. A large wall surrounds the whole manor and at the entrance were two large iron gates. This enhances tension because it makes the reader feel the tension that the characters are feeling and it places a picture of the setting in their mind. The moors around the manor house in Hound of the Baskervilles are foggy and mysterious, they are barren and inhospitable. They seem abandoned and lonely. The moors contain dangerous quicksand. This creates tension, by the reader knowing, that something spooky or dangerous is about to happen. The opium den in The Man with the Twisted Lip is dark, dank and smoky. There are bodies spread all over the floor in different positions. The untypical story is the Hound of the Baskervilles because its set out of London, on a moor whereas all of his other stories are set in homes or London. The criminals in Sherlock Holmes are not typical because they have obscure ways of doing things. We know that Dr Roylott has a criminal nature because he is aggressive and shows his strength when he comes to see Holmes. This quote shows Dr Roylott when he bends the poker in Holmes apartment He bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands. This shows his strength and aggressive nature. Another quote that shows how everyone became scared of him, because when ever he went out he either got into brawls or quarrelled with the locals. He became the terror of the village  We doubt Hugh Boone as a criminal because he doesnt really commit a crime, he was a man in lots of debt so he ran away and disguised himself as a beggar and started life again. Which suggests he is a proud man but not a criminal

Marks and Spencer Mission, Objectives and Responsibilities

Marks and Spencer Mission, Objectives and Responsibilities Introduction Terms of Reference. The purpose of this assignment is purely for academic reasons; this assignment has been made primarily to complete the module of Business Environment under the course HNC Business (Management) which I am studying Aims and Objective The assignment attempts to identify mission, objectives and responsibilities of an organization with its environment. It investigates the economic, social and global environment in which the organization operates. It investigates the behavior of organization and the market environment. It explores the significance of International Trade and the European dimension for the UK business. Research Methods Mark Spencer Ltd web sites articles, news, case studies. Theoretical studies from different books and Handouts from my tutor. Personal academic knowledge about Business environment Mission, Objectives and Responsibilities of Mark Spencer with its environment Developing a vision, mission and values is the foundation for the log term success, as demonstrated by Collins Porras in Built to Last. Mark and Spencer mission statement as former times and still is Good quality for the penny whereby the penny turned bazaars into stores. Mission, Values, Key objectives and influence of stakeholders Vision A vision helps working in goal congruence. It comes from within as well as outside. It accomplishes the following Give a sense of the future Guides decision making and strategy Creates a platform with same purpose Laydown behavior guidelines Inspire emotion Reflects the values Mark and Spencer vision is to be the standard against which others are measured- Benchmarking Mission A Mission statement is a statement reflecting what the organisation business is and what key purpose is there. Mark and Spencer Mission are to make inspirational quality accessible to others. Values Values are the beliefs and norms of the organisation. They underpin policies, objectives and procedures as they acts as an anchor and reference point for all the activity in the organisation. Mark and Spencer Values are Quality, Service, innovation and trust amernassargooglepages.com/MS.pdf . Key Objectives Employee orientation Higher expectations that staff can contribute more to the organization. There is a need for succession management. As such developing a career path for employees. Its part of Mark and Spencer to attract, motivate and retain high caliber workforce to assist the transformation of the business and deliver improved performance. Organizational objectives Mark and Spencer is to regain their leadership in clothing and specialty food. This is to be achieving by translating their scale and authority into superior quality, value and appeal. Sales objectives Mark and Spencer belief that there is plenty of room for improvement in their sales per foot. They saw Return per foot as a key operational objective going forward. Stakeholders influence. Employees -Interested in Job security, financial benefits, and satisfaction Pursuit of systems goals rather than shareholders interest. Suppliers -Interested in Profitable sales, Payment for goods and Long term relationship -Response to risk refusal of credit, court action and wind down relationship Government Interested in Jobs, Training and Tax. -Response to risk Tax increases, Regulation and Legal action Pressure Groups Society Interested in Pollution, Rights and other. -Response to risk Publicity, Direct action, Sabotage and Pressure on Government. Achievement of stakeholders objectives by organization If a vision and mission is recognised by all stakeholders and affects every hiring, strategic decision and communication: its effect can be magic. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() To achieve Stakeholders objective an organisation should be able to separate their interest from each other and as such act according to the power they exert in the organisation. Responsibilities of organization and effective they are in satisfying them Mark and Spencer does satisfies their stakeholders efficiently Employees They have a welfare department established in 1930. Their financial interest are safeguarded by bonuses and increases in salary upon job performance Their package of benefits are extended, such as interest free loans granted Opportunity of buying shares for the company at bonus or rights issue. Suppliers Always used UK based suppliers, ensuring consistent quality Relationship to built reliance on suppliers Life long relationship. Mutual dependability respects the specification and standard. Social commitment Strong tradition of Corporate Social Responsibility Sponsorship of Charities and secondment programs Community development efforts Government social projects. Environment friendly -Mark and Spencer became the first retailer to remove all artificial colours and flavouring from its entire food and soft drinks range- April 2008 -Mark and Spencer became the first retailer to launch school wear made from recycled plastic bottle -Despite tough economic conditions Mark and Spencer stick to Plan A. As it gives them brand and differentiation and as AL Gore said a sustainable business can be profitable one http://plana.marksandspencer.com/media/pdf/planA-2010.pdf Economic, Social and Global environment The economic problem is mainly because of unlimited wants with limited resources. It is basically how nations decide to spread or allocate their resources effectively and efficiently to maximise the production goods and services. Economic System-Allocation and Effective use of resources. To deal with the question of scarcity different countries use different approaches or types of economic system. Market Economy Private parties (Individuals or businesses) own a vast majority of land, factories and other economic resources. Centrally Planned Economy Government owns most land, factories, and other economic resources and plans nearly all economic activity. The Mixed Economy Balance between market forces and state intervention. Certain activities need to be regulated by the state while others can be left to the influence of the market. It comprises: A free enterprise- where economic decisions reflects the market forces Public ownership control of key central industries Welfare sector provide a minimum level of medical social and educational services for all citizens regardless of wealth. Impact of social welfare and industrial policy initiatives and the wider community. Benefit and Pension Mark and Spencer Once youve worked for MS for a year you are qualified for the retirement plan where you can save up to 100% of your pay in the plan and the company will match it with double contribution (limited12%). It thus provide a secure retirement and with options to transfer your investment when you On top of these benefits, MS also offer our people: SAYE Scheme to all its employees Have more holidays the longer you stay with the company The company also subsidized benefits such as health and care and dental care. Particularly in the UK, the push by retailers to meet the demands of a growing number of ethical shoppers has raised the profile of the ethical practices of businesses. Marks and Spencer, for example, is inviting shoppers to look behind the label at the sustainability of its products, as well as its labor, fair trade and animal welfare practices http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec333092-f937-11db-9b6b-000b5df10621.html Benefit and Pension Government Maternity allowance, Paternity allowance and adoption allowance Benefit for those who do not meet the requirements for statutory payments. Child Benefit Paid to whichever parents the child live with. Child Tax Credit Tax rebate for couple who has children Guardian allowance Tax free benefit for a child whom one is caring for but is not yours Disability Living allowance- Child who has care needs or mobility problems. Housing benefit If your total income is below threshold and you pay rent you might be qualified for housing benefit. State Pension Regular payment people claims when they get to certain age. Job seekers allowance People who are not working or working less than 16 hrs weekly can claim this benefit. http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/mscareers/rewards_benefits The government also provide Fiscal and Monetary policies for stability. Fiscal policy tools used by the government to influence level of economic activity through changing taxation or govt. spending. It can be targeted to a particular group. Fiscal policy is ineffective when investment is sensitive to interest rates and attempts to offset the actions of the government. Monetary policy- is an attempt to control macro economic variables through use of interest rates. It is very weak when consumers are holding money rather than spending them when interest rates are very low Impact of macroeconomic policy and influence of global economy on UK organizations and stakeholders. PESTEL The External Environment Political Integration of EU AND Free Trade Agreement the market has opened up for British companies opening in Europe. Technology The introduction of e-commerce. M S promoting people to buy on line with incentives likes discount. It provides flexibility 24hr Economy Retail sector very sensitive to changes in the interest rates. Environmental Marks and Spencers commitment to the environment put them at them within the top ten green brands in the UK recently * Global Warming Social Changes in consumer taste and lifestyle give rise to new market and consumers but also threats in terms of social acceptance to alcohol Legal National Health and Safety National Minimum Wage Taxation Policy Use of renewable resources. SWOT ANALYSIS Mark Spencer STRENGHTS Reputation/Brand/Goodwill Market position Quality products Detail in supplier control Internet Shopping Simon Marks understanding of customers preferences and trends WEAKNESSES Lack of newness Clothing- segmentation Lagging to provide up to date fashionable clothes Using most British suppliers believing higher quality but low cost Competitors using overseas suppliers to cut cost OPPORTUNITIES Define target age group Store a new upbeat look Respond to customer taste and purchasing power Improve CRM systems to retain existing customers and target potential new customers. To go global and expand the business Use technology to improve their functioning and thus gain competitive advantage THREATS Loss of market share of intense competition Strong competition with Next same price product but more fashionable Discount stores like Matalan Threat from Giant Tesco and Sainsbury who penetrate in the market to supply added value. (http://bizcovering.com/major-companies/a-case-study-on-marks-and-spencer/2/) Stakeholders expectations developed according to changes in the market. For instance, MS brand loyalty concept is less likely to survive where there are several substitutes of same standard in the market. As such MS has to be creative and innovative and constantly reacting to the change in the buying behaviour of the consumers. Market structures, market forces and Competition commission and regulatory bodies Market structures deviate from model of perfect competition. MS which has long been in this perfect competition, a market situation of many sellers and many buyers with similar or substitutes product. The price is determined by supply and demand and producers are to sell their products at the price determined by the market. Being in such competition the firm should have the perfect resource to produce and distribute efficiently as it faces fierce competition. MS deviated from the perfect competition to an Oligopolistic market structure, with the heavy advertising campaign for its brand name. As they are selling same product like other key players like Tesco, Asda but differentiate with its brand. It relies strongly on brand awareness and loyalty in a competitive market; differentiate itself with the quality standard with other supermarket. Relationship between market forces and organizational responses. Porters Five Forces The Industry The five forces model provides a summary of the threats within the immediate industry. Suppliers Low in this Industry Dual Sourcing Strategies Rivalry Low Competitive In this Industry Bargaining Power Buyers Aggressive Pricing Strategy Substitute Premium Branded Food Sainsbury John Lewis New Entrants Low Price Low cost BHS/ASDA Porters Five Forces Behavior and competitive strategies, Competition commission and regulatory bodies. The consumers buying behaviour trends is reflected by an ageing population and the high number of women in the workforce. The increase in disposable income and the lifestyle changes recent years. The revolution of home internet users online shopping which call for multi-cultural marketing. (Deloitte:2005 Global powers of Retailing report).In the recent years because of fierce competition MS market share suffered a blow mainly their clothing segment. Unlike when you consider MS Competitor, Tescos strategies to penetrate the UK market. Tesco operated on the pile it High sell it Cheap formula the early 70s and thereafter launches the operation check out which cut prices across their product and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Then Tesco diversified there channel of distribution with Stores like Tesco extra, Tesco metro and as well as beginning to open petrol stations. The Competition Commission has asked the Government to impose an ombudsman on the grocery industry to rule on disputes between supermarkets and their suppliers. The request comes after it failed to agree a voluntary arrangement with major retailers Only Marks Spencer, Waitrose and Aldi backed the plan. The takeover of MS store card business of  £763m by HSBC has given the Office of Fair Trading to launch a competition investigation into the matter. Richard Fletcher, Executive Editor, Business Published: 8:20PM BST 04 Aug 2009 TELEGRAPH .CO.UK The Office of Fair Trading has launched a formal competition investigation into HSBCs  £763m takeover of Marks Spencers store-card business. The firm Freshfield might be under investigation for its work advising Philip Green for abortion bid for MS and the investigation will be carried out by the Law Society, which regulates the Britishs legal profession. International Trade and the European Dimension Importance of international trade, economic integration and global markets to UK business International trade is doing business across national borders and is the backbone of our modern computerized business world. These occurs mainly because of lower production costs in one region versus another, specialized industries, lack of surplus of natural resources and consumer tastes. Globalization is a process driven by international trade and investment. It is the trend towards greater economic, cultural, political and technological interdependence among national institutions and economies. The benefits of globalization are as follows: Reduces marketing costs New market opportunities Balance in level in income Access to low cost labor Access to technical expertise Access to production inputs. The main drivers for Globalization are: GATT WTO Regional Trade Agreements Technological Innovation As MS is growing global and international competition has presented new challenges. The company stress its global sourcing principles amongst its selected suppliers and further down the supply chain which sets a minimum acceptable entry standard. MS want their suppliers to raise their standard as well to reflect the internationally recognized standard thus differentiating them and enjoying the competitive edge. Impact of two policies of the European Union on the UK business organizations The Agricultural Policy has always been a tension between members state. The banned of the import of beef from the US by the EU. The EU responded illegally according to the WTO with a refusal to comply. The US retaliated by levying an import tax of $ 117 m on imports of food from the EU. (Source Undersatnding European Union 3rd edition Anforme 2002.) Such transactions would impact the UK US relationship, it would adversely affect the UK economy. Last year only one Banking company crash in the US and the effect is still felt and now one can imagine if the US starts implementing quotas, barriers and levying tax on imports from the UK. The EU directives affect the UK businesses; even the different bodies of the EU are not always unanimous about the directives set. For instance, Advocate General Leendert Geelhoed from the ECJ said that EU health foods directive infringe guidelines in his opinion. In the case brought forward by the industry groups the British Health Food Manufacture Association, National Association of Health Stores(NAHS) and Alliance for Natural Health(ANH) ahead of the ECJ. (Source :http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/441192- 13/04/05) The Economic implication for the UK of entry into EMU. The EMU was masterminded by Jacques Delores which is mainly single currency. The EMU is seen as a logical extension of the single market and as a way of making EU more competitive and powerful in the world market. The EURO ZONE consisting Lower cost for management of money Faster transactions across borders Elimination of exchange rate fluctuations. Market Transparency The impacts of EMU on UK economy are huge, since the major partners of the UK are members of the EMU. The Euro relative weaknesses against the pound and UK export to Europe more expensive and thus make it more difficult for UK businesses to sell their products. On the other side domestic consumers will buy imported rather than domestic goods. Government subjected the Five Economic tests before considering membership. Euro Zone economic structure compatible to UK Is the UK labor market flexible to meet the requirements of such development The effect of the Euro Zone on the financial investment in the UK. The effect of the single currency on the competitive position of the City of London. Will the EMU be able to promote such growth, stability and employment that the UK has accomplished by its own. 6.0 Conclusion and Recommendations MS has been a leading retailer in the UK, but went through a phase by 1988 which pushed the firm into crisis. By 2006 MS reposition themselves in the market but could not enjoy the iconic brand it once was. They were to face the UKS largest and most profitable retailer in 2006 TESCO. MS respond tot the challenge with a drastic changes in management structure. They have to achieve the right balance between the corporate values, strong market position and the innovation to stay competitive. They need to use their strength Brand and product quality to be enabled to sustain profitability and to be less vulnerable to changes in the market condition. MS is in a very highly competitive and sophisticated industry, as such the need to be aware of the fashion trends, customer increasing expectations and changing tastes are more than ever one of the most important factor for them to consider. The lowering of international barriers has encourage a vast choices of product available to customer

Impressions Of Television :: essays research papers fc

Impressions of Television SOME AMERICANS COMPLAIN THAT THERE IS TOO MUCH VIOLENCE IN TELEVISION, PARTICULARLY IN AN ACTION SERIES OR CARTOONS. THEY ARE AFRAID THAT PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, WILL SEE THESE SHOWS AND THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS IS THROUGH VIOLENT ACTS. I THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS OTHER THAN TELEVISION THAT EFFECTS PEOPLE. HAVE YOU EVER TRIED SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE YOU SAW IT ON TELEVISION? I'M SURE THAT ALL OF US HAVE DONE THAT AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. TELEVISION SHOWS THAT ARE VIOLENT CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE WAY THAT CHILDREN ACT. TELEVISION HAS EMBEDDED ITSELF WITHIN THE LIFE OF THE TYPICAL AMERICAN PERSON. ACCORDING TO THE ENCARTA 96 CD ROM ENCYCLOPEDIA THEY CLAIM THAT, "BETWEEN THE AGES OF 2 AND 65 THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WILL WATCH 72,000 HOURS OF TELEVISION—AT 24 HOURS A DAY, A TOTAL OF 8 FULL YEARS. THE DAILY AVERAGE IS ABOUT 4 HOURS. THE HEAVIEST VIEWERS ARE HOUSEWIVES AND SENIOR CITIZENS. CHILDREN WATCH THE SAME AMOUNT OF TELEVISION AS DO ADULTS; TEENAGERS WATCH ABOUT AN HOUR LESS PER DAY." "EARLY EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHERS COMPARED THE PLAY OF CHILDREN WHO HAD SEEN AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR ON TELEVISION WITH THE PLAY OF A CONTROL GROUP OF CHILDREN WHO HAD WATCHED NONVIOLENT PROGRAMS. CONCERN WAS INTENSIFIED BY FINDINGS THAT INDICATED A HIGHER LEVEL OF AGGRESSIVE PLAY IN THE VIOLENT- TELEVISION GROUP"(ENCARTA). ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SURF SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS TO SEE THE VIOLENCE. THE NINJA TURTLES ARE A PHENOMENON THAT HAS CAPTURED THE IMAGINATIONS OF MOVIE, COMIC, AND EVEN CARTOON FANS ACROSS SEVERAL GENERATIONS. A GROUP OF YOUNG, TEENAGE TURTLES WHO USE KUNG-FU AGAINST A GROUP OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CREATURES. THIS SHOW ANIMATES EXPLICITLY HOW THEY BATTLE THESE CREATURES TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY. THEY LIVE IN THE SEWERS WITH THEIR TEACHER WHO IS A RAT, USING AN ASSORTMENT OF WEAPONS SUCH AS THE SWORD, NUMCHUCKS, NINJA FORKS, AND A NINJA STICK TO FIGHT FOES. IT SEEMS TO ME WHEN I LOOK OUTSIDE TO SEE THE CHILDREN PLAYING, THEY MIMIC THE NINJA TURTLES, PRETENDING THAT THEY ARE KILLING KRANG OR SHREDDER. IT NEVER FAILS IT ALWAYS SEEMS THAT THERE IS ONE CHILD THAT COMES IN CRYING BECAUSE ANOTHER KID (WHO THOUGHT HE WAS DONATELLO) WAS HITTING HIM WITH A STICK THAT HE USED FOR A SWORD. ALARMINGLY THIS PROBLEM SOMETIMES ESCALATES WHEN THE CHILD GETS OLDER AND THE CHILD IS SUBJECT TO MORE IDEAS BROUGHT ACROSS ON TELEVISION. NOT TOO FAR AWAY IN THE CHANNELS OF THE TELEVISION YOU HAVE MTV. IT IS A MUSIC BASED CHANNEL THAT PLAYS ALL TYPES OF MUSIC VIDEOS AND AN OCCASIONAL

Branzburg vs. Hayes Essay -- essays research papers fc

The case of Branzburg vs. Hayes all began in 1969, when a Louisville Kentucky reporter by the name of Branzburg wrote a story, in the Courier-Journal, which described how two local residences made hashish marijuana. The article went into great detail and revealed many facts, including the amount of money the two made on selling the hashish to the public. The article also featured pictures of the two individual’s hands working with a plant like substance and was identified for readers as hashish in the caption under the picture. Branzburg was in agreement with the drug dealers and promised them he would not reveal their real names or identities in the article.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the article was published, Branzburg was immediately subpoenaed by the Jefferson County Court system. The court demeaned that he name the two individuals featured in the article, but he stood strong and refused to give up their names like he had promised them. Branzburg argued that the Kentucky Privilege Statute passed in 1962 protected him from having to give up the names.(1) He also argued that the First Amendment and Kentucky constitution, (Sections 1,2, and 8) protected his right not to disclose the information of the two individual’s identities.(2) However, the Kentucky courts fought back arguing that the Kentucky Privilege Statute didn’t allow a reporter to refuse to testify about things they saw, or not disclose the names of people they were in contact with. Branzburg then took his case to the Kentucky appeals court, which ruled against him once again. He continued to fight the good fight for what he thought was true and right; the case finally ended up at the Supreme Court.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Branzburg’s decision not to disclose the information the court sought was due to the belief that his integrity and effectiveness as a reporter would be tarnished if he named names. Branzburg placed a high value on the confidentiality between him and the subjects he was investigating and reporting on. He felt that if he had released the two names in the article he published that subjects in the future would be unwilling to disclose information that was vital in writing the kind of stories he so desired. If people from the local area saw that Branzburg couldn’t keep his subjects identities anonymous as they had requested, than others in the future would be ve... ...t the law would eventually find him and force him to disclose the individual’s identities. I think his motives behind writing the story were to produce a thought provoking article that revealed the under ground operation of the drug manufacturing community. He wanted to shakes things up and report on something that was controversial and intriguing, however in the end he became a rat. Works Cited 1.) Kentucky Reporters’ Privilege Statute, KY. REV. STAT. SEC. 421.100 (1962), http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=408&invol=665 Section I, paragraph 2. 2.) http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=408&invol=665 Section I, paragraph 2. 3.) http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=408&invol=665 Section 2 Paragraph 1 4.) http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=408&invol=665 Section 2, paragraph 2 5.) In re Pappas - 408 U.S. 665 (1972) - Docket Number: 70-94 http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/870/ 6.) U.S. Constitution: Fifth Amendment Fifth Amendment - Rights of Person http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/

Attention Deficit Disorder †Is It Myth or Reality? :: essays research papers fc

Attention Deficit Disorder is one of the more controversial topics for parents, educators and physicians in their efforts in identification and treatment of the disorder. Imagine your son or daughter being involved in this horrifying, grotesque, nightmarish hell. â€Å"On December 1, 1997, Michael Carneal, a fourteen-year old opened fire on students at a high school prayer meeting in West Paducah, Kentucky. Three teenagers were killed, five others were wounded, and one was paralyzed. Carneal was reportedly on Ritalin.† (Wiseman) â€Å"On March 24, 1998 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, eleven-year-old Andrew Golden and fourteen year old Mitchell Johnson shot fifteen people killing four students, one teacher, and wounding ten others. According to one report, the boys were believed to be on Ritalin.† (Wiseman) This is just a few of the numerous events that the one common denominator was the use of Ritalin or other mind-altering drugs. These drugs drive some of the children who take them to acts of violence, murder, and suicide. Bruce Wiseman is one of the many who believes that Attention Deficit Disorder is widely fraudulent labeling and drugging of our nation’s youth without proper identification and without trying other remedies or solutions. (Wiseman) We claim that we are a society of â€Å"Just Say No To Drugs.† Then why are there are approximately four million children on Ritalin today. (Connecting with Kids, Fox News 43, November 13, 2000) The World Health Organization and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) place Ritalin in the same category as cocaine, morphine and opium. These drugs are known to have the highest potential for abuse and are very addictive. Literature that is given to parents, does not address the abuse potential or actual abuse of methylphenidate, a generic for Ritalin. It is portrayed to be a mild substance that is not associated with abuse or serious side effects. In reality, there is scientific literature, which indicates that methylphenidate shares the same abuse potential as morphine, opium or cocaine. There are case reports that abuse can lead to tolerance and severe psychological dependence. (a 30 page report by the Drug Enforcement Agency in 1995 entitled, â€Å"Methyphenidate†) These reports are not taken seriously and in many cases not referenced at all. Therefore, the parents are not given the opportunity to make an intelligent decision based upon information mainly due to information that is very vague, general and possibly misguiding. There is no biologic, organic or scientific basis for Attention Deficit Disorder.

Erving Goffman Focuses on Form of Social Interaction

Examine the view that Erving Goffman’s work focuses on forms of social interaction but ignores social structure. Erving Goffman was born on the 11th June 1922 in Mannville, Canada. In 1939, Goffman enrolled at the University of Manitoba where he pursued an undergraduate degree in chemistry; however he then took an interest for sociology while working temporarily at the National Film Board in Ottawa.This was the motivation that he then needed to go on and enrol at the University of Toronto where he studied anthropology and sociology, then after graduating with a degree he began a masters in sociology at the University of Chicago, which was one of the centres’ of sociological research in the United States. In the decade from 1959-1969 Goffman published seven significant books, this was a remarkable achievement, and so has been considered as the most influential sociologist of the twentieth century. The focus of his work was the organisation of observable, everyday behavio ur, usually but not always among unacquainted in urban settings.He used a variety of qualitative methods; he then developed classifications of the different elements of social interaction. The assumption of this approach was that these classifications were heuristic, simplifying tools for sociological analysis that did not capture the complexity of lived experience. Goffman was heavily influenced by George Mead and Herbert Blumer in his theoretical framework, and went on to pioneer the study of face-to-face interaction, elaborate the â€Å"dramaturgical approach† to human interaction, and develop numerous concepts that would have massive influence.Goffman mainly concentrated on the detailed analysis of encounters and the norms governing these encounters, therefore the evaluation of face-to-face interactions, paying close attention to the small details of these interactions and discovering things that may seem insignificant yet actually are what structure behaviour and behavio ur norms. In doing so, Goffman investigated gestures, such as shaking hands or placing a hand on someone else’s shoulder and facial expressions during interactions. These types of gestures came to be known as ‘grammatical structures’ of social interactions.Social interactions create the world to be a predictable place and saw interactions as rituals, in the sense that ‘interaction order’ as Goffman called it is a social order, when we disrupt interaction we disrupt society. Goffman argued that our interactions give us a sense of our social belonging and our sense of inviolability of people. When discussing social interaction Goffman uses notions from the theatre in his analyses. The concept of social role originated in a theatrical setting. Roles are socially defined expectations that a person in a given status, or social position, follows.Goffman sees social life as though played out by actors on a stage, as how people act depends on the roles that they are playing at that time. Goffman then suggests that social life is divided into regions and back regions. The front regions are social occasions or encounters in which individuals act out formal roles; they are essentially, ‘on stage performances’. An example of this would be within the family between a husband and wife who may take care to conceal their quarrels from their children, preserving a front harmony, only to fight bitterly once the children are safely tucked up in bed.The back regions may resemble the backstage of the theatre, where people can relax and open up about their feelings and styles of behaviour they keep in check when on stage. Back regions permit ‘profanities, open sexual remarks, elaborate griping, use of dialect or substandard speech’. (Goffman, 1959). Thus, a waitress may be the soul of quiet courtesy when serving a customer, but become loud and aggressive once behind the swing doors of the kitchen. Goffman (1959) argued that performance teams routinely use backstage regions for such purposes.This approach by Goffman is usually described as ‘dramaturgical’; that is, it is an approach based on an analogy with the theatre, with its front and backstage regions. However, Goffman is not suggesting that the social world really is a stage, but that, using the dramaturgical analogy, we can study certain aspects of it and learn more about why people behave in ways they do. (Giddens: 268: 2009). In The Presentation of Everyday Life (1959), Goffman outlined a conceptual framework in which any occasion of face-to-face interaction can be interpreted as a theatrical performance.Expanding the ideas of Kenneth Burke, who pioneered a ‘dramatist’ approach. Burke identifies five elements that have to be taken account of in any discussion or analysis of social interaction. The first being act, which refers to what is done. Typical acts such as telling jokes, drinking a cup of coffee and so on are all interpreted, all symbolic displays communicating to the audience of what’s going on. Then the scene, it is the situation, the context, the setting and the props and it is what the actors relate to. The agent relates to the ndividual that carries out the action, they act but with an identity, with an image of self that is presented to the audience. Burke argues image of self is going to relate to the acts that have been carried out and the context in which the act is being carried out. He states that self’s are not things which are not fixed, they are something presented to the audience. Purpose, why do people do things? One reason being because they have motives, they are taken very seriously and are the reason for people’s behaviour. Purposes are not fixed; they depend on what is being carried out.Finally the last element which Burke discusses is agency which is the theoretical points, he claims that the whole lot is realised through language. From these el ements Goffman then went on to develop his own ‘dramaturgical’ investigations based on six themes: the performance, the team, the region, discrepant roles, communication out of the character and impression management. Nothing of Goffman’s dramaturgical world is quite what it seems. Rather, people are all portrayed as performers enacting rehearsed lines and roles in places that are carefully constructed in order to maximise the potential of deception.He then goes on to suggest that as performers people both ‘give’ and ‘give off’ impressions. It has been suggested that Goffman’s dramaturgical world is thus one of misdirection in which general suspicion is necessary; he developed an interest in espionage practices mainly because he recognised these as extensions of everyday behaviour. Goffman then went on to identify five moves in social interaction which are the ‘unwitting’, the ‘naive’, the ‘covering ’, the ‘uncovering’ and finally the ‘counter uncovering’ move (1959: 11-27).Each of these moves is designed either to achieve some advantage directly, or to reveal the strategies of other players. These moves are used in social worlds, or as Goffman called them, ‘situated activity systems’. Each is regulated by adopted norms known by system’s members. Rather than concentrating on the production of meanings, the definition of the situation and relevant symbols, as Bulmer advocated, Goffman proposed the study of ‘strategic interaction’ using the vocabulary outlined above.However, for reasons which are uncertain, neither Goffman nor anyone else developed this proposal, and the relationship between symbolic interactionism and strategic interaction has been largely ignored. For Goffman, the concern between the individual and society was through ritual. Goffman’s use of ritual was indebted to Durkheim; arguing that t he ‘self’ in modern society becomes a sacred object in the same way that the collective symbols of more primitive societies, operated in Durkheim’s â€Å"The Elementary Forms of Religious Life†.The ‘self’ as â€Å"sacred object must be treated with proper ritual care and in turn must be presented in a proper light to others† (1967:87). The rituals of modern social life that individuals perform for each to maintain, â€Å"civility and good will on the performer’s part† and acknowledge the â€Å"small patrimony of sacredness† possessed by the recipient are ‘stand ins’ for the power of supernatural entities described by Durkheim (Goffman, 1961:62).As Goffman put it, â€Å"Many gods have been done away with, but the individual himself stubbornly remains as a deity of considerable importance† (1967:95). In Asylums (1961), Goffman analysed the extreme backstages of society, such as the schizophrenic wa rds of mental hospitals. He proposed the concept of â€Å"total instituations† for places where all aspects of life are subject to all encompssing authority that allows no private backstages for the individuals.Goffman argued that patients engage in resistance through bizarre behaviour which is beyond insitutional controls. Thus, the official social processing of persons as deviant tends to promote further deviance. Mental illness, in Goffman’s view, is not a characteristic of the individual so much as a social enactment, a spiral of violations of the ritual properties of everyday life. Therefore Goffman drew upon his fieldwork to make a point that one becomes labeled as mentally ill because one persistently violates minor standards of ritual proriety.He claims that these mentally ill patients are deprieved of backstage privacy, props for situational self-presentation, and most of the other resources by which people under ordinary conditions are allowed to show their w ell demeaned selves and their ability to take part in the reciprocity of giving ritual deference to others. This research is familiar to that of Durkheim’s research on suicide, not so much to show why people kill themselves but to reveal the normal conditions that keep up social solidarity and give meaning to life. George Simmel was another major influence for Goffman.Goffman looked at the details of everyday life not simply as illustrations or data for theoretical abstractions, but to provide an accurate description of the social world. Simmel’s concept of â€Å"pure sociation† established the study of interaction as basic to sociological analysis. Goffman continued this tradition in his insistence that face-to-face interaction comprised an independent area of sociological analysis. â€Å"My concern over the years has been to promote acceptance of this face to face domainas an analytically viable one† (1983b:1).These methods that Gofman has used of incor porating the Simmelian micro level of interaction and the macro level analysis of Durkheimian ritual behaviour have been described as empirically electric, for example, in his book â€Å"Behaviour in Public Place†, Goffman noted that the data which he used came from different studies which he had carried, they included ones of a mental hospital, a study of a Shetland Island community and even some from manuals of etiquette which he had kept in a file of quotations that he found interesting. 1963:4). His approach was basically identifying the ways in which individuals in a variety of social contexts accomplished interaction. Thus, he paid attention to speech as well as silence. Goffman expected Frame Analysis (1974) to be his crowning achievement. In this book he stated that he was concerned with â€Å"the structure of experience individuals has at any moment of their lives† and made â€Å"no claim whatsoever to be talking about the core matters of sociology-social org anisation and social structure† (1974:13).However, this does not mean that Goffman or integrationists generally ignore society and social structures. Goffman’s position was that the nature of society and its structures or institutions is discovered in the behaviours of individuals. He suggested, â€Å"If persons have a universal human nature, they themselves are not to be looked to for an explanation of it. One must look rather to the fact societies everywhere, if they are to be societies, must mobilise their members as self-regulating participants in social encounters. Fundamentally what Goffman is saying is that society frames interaction, but interaction is not dependant on macrostructures. Furthermore, interaction can have a transformative impact on social structures. There is a key point in Goffman’s work, which is that he rejected the classical sociological opposition between the individual and social structure that still retains credibility in current soc iological theory. For Goffman, â€Å"individual and social structure are not competing entities; they are joint products of an interaction order sui generis† (Rawls 1987:138).As people in their daily life spend in the presence of others, people are then socially situated and so this social situatedness gives rise to â€Å"indicators, expressions or symptoms of social structures such as relationships, informed groups, age grades, gender, ethnic minorities, social classes and the like†, these ‘effects’ should be treated as â€Å"data in their own terms† (1983b:2). Furthermore, social structures are â€Å"dependent upon, and vulnerable to, what occurs in face-to-face encounters† (1983:246).Although social structures don’t determine displays such as rituals and ceremonies, they do however â€Å"help select from the available repertoire of them† (1983b:251). Thus, there is a sense of â€Å"loose coupling† that lies between tha t of interaction and social structure. An example which can be used to explain this is that of a small number of males, â€Å"such as junior executives who have to wait and hang on others’ words† in a manner similar to that of women involved in informal cross-sexed interaction (1983:252).What this observation allows Goffman to do is create a role category of subordination that â€Å"women and junior executives share† (1983b:252). It can be said that Goffman does not intentionally ignore social structure; he just does not provide any definition of it, other than to point out their constructed and framing nature. Frames can be seen as basic assumptions enabling people to understand what is going on in any encounter or situation and the interaction enabling the individual to respond appropriately.Frame Analysis is an investigation of what occurs when individuals ask themselves and others, â€Å"what is going on here? † (1974:153). Meaning that Goffman is not dealing with the structure of social life but with the structure of experience that individuals have at any moment of their social lives, when they believe they understand â€Å"what is going on†, they will â€Å"fit their actions to this understanding and ordinarily find that the on-going world supports this fitting† (1974:158). Goffman believes that everyday activities carried out by individuals are â€Å"framed† in different ways, although they are performed sequentially.In conclusion it can be said that Goffman’s work cannot be easily â€Å"placed† in any on theoretical tradition. His work was and remains a constant source of renewal in many different directions for sociological theory, which have been discussed throughout the duration on this essay. Goffman described his work as the promotion of the â€Å"face-to-face domain as an analytically viable one-a domain which might be titled†¦the interaction order- a domain whose preferred met hod of study is microanalysis† (1983b:2).However, Anthony Giddens (1984) pointed out that Goffman’s sociological analysis still needs to bridge the divide between the micro and macro, between face-to-face interactions and social structures. As his contribution to social theory consists in the idea of an interaction order sui generis this derives its order from constraints imposed by the needs of a presentational self rather than social structure. There are errors in the interpretation of Goffman’s work which have contributed to the misunderstanding of this contribution.Firstly, while the notion of presentational self has presumably been understood, it has nevertheless been re-embedded in the traditional dichotomy between agency and social structure. Consequently Goffman has been interpreted as documenting the struggle between the two; secondly, because of the attention Goffman gave to strategic action, it is assumed that Goffman considered this to be the basic fo rm of action.Thirdly, Goffman has been interpreted as focusing on the details of the interactional negotiation of social structure and fourthly, Goffman is thought to have ignored the important issues such as inequality and institutional constraint. Bibliography * Durkheim E. 1912. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. * Goffman E. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. * Goffman E. 1961. Asylums Harmondsworth: Penguin. * Goffman E. 1963. Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings * Goffman E. 1971. Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order Basic Books: New York. Goffman E. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience, Harper and Row, New York. * Goffman E. 1983b. ‘The Interaction Order’ American Sociological Review Vol. 48. * Goffman, Erving. 1967. Interaction Ritual: Essays in Face-to-Face Behavior. Chicago: Aldine. * Giddens A. 1984. The Constitution of Society. Berkeley: University Of Califor na Press. * Giddens A. 2009. Sociology 6th Addition. * Rawls Warfield A. 1987. The Interaction Order Sui Generis: Goffman’s Contribution to Social Theory. Sociological Theory, Volume 5, Issue (Autumn,1987).