SALAT

Prayer has always been an integral part of Islamic faith and is accorded a central place in the religious practices. Salat is the ritualized form of prayer laid out and codified in the Quran. Though Islam has formalized many practices in detail, salat has not been codified in detail in the Quran. The practices of Prophet Muhammed served as worthy of emulation and has been carried over into the religious practice in the form of oral reports called hadiths. In the early stages Islam and its rituals were in a state of constant change and hence scholars and jurists spent considerable effort in expounding the religious practices of Muslims. The Quran places great emphasis on prayer and the prayer finds expression in various forms like supplication, remembrance, repentance, glorification, litany and ritual (p. 8054). Salat is the ritual part of the prayer and needs to be understood in this overall context. Keeping up with the schism in early Islam and subsequent formation of Sunni and Shia sects, salat has incorporated the influences of these sects. Prayer is of such a paramount importance to the faith, it is also included in the Islamic jurisprudence and salat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam as defined in Islamic law ‘Shariah’. Salat can either be mandatory or voluntary. It is voluntary when one has reached the age of reason and obligatory when one has reached puberty (p. 8055). There are exact and stringent specifications for conducting salat and Islamic laws describe them in detail. Though men and women performed the prayers together in Muhammad’s time, the later hadiths have excluded or severely limited presence of women in the communal salat performed in the mosques. Islam stresses communal prayer and hence the mosque forms the central locus for salat. It is permitted to conduct salat on the street or elsewhere, if no mosque is available. In the early days of Islam salat was performed three times in a day, but later hadiths took reference to Muhammad’s night journey and increased the number of mandatory salats to five in a day. Muslims are called to prayer by muezzin fifteen minutes before the salat time and the muezzin calls out by glorifying God and his messenger Muhammad. Before the salat begins the followers of the faith should make themselves clean for the ritual by cleansing themselves with water. Shariah specifies both major impurities, which require a complete bath and minor impurities that require ablution at the mosque itself. Apart from the physical purity, one also has to purify himself mentally by declaring the intention to pray. Various schools of thought differ on this aspect i. e. some schools say that intention should be pronounced audibly and some say it should be silent. The very act of performing the salat is pretty simple and brief. According to Shariah â€Å"each salat consists of two or four cycles of bowing, called rak’ah† (p. 8057). It also specifies that at least seventeen cycles should be completed in a day during the five salats. Salat is performed by a series of steps accompanied by specified incantations. For example, salat begins with the incantation â€Å"God is great† followed by certain bodily movements. The Sunnis and Shias have different interpretations here as well. This is then followed by extolling the glory of God and finally the follower performs various other actions like asking for forgiveness or offers petitions to the God. Salat needs to be understood not only as a pure ritual form but also needs to be located in the historical context. Salat has played a fundamental role in forging a Muslim identity. It has also been interpreted as a path to spiritual encounter with God or merely as ritual observance and submission to God’s law (p. 8058). For the followers however salat denotes purification of mind and body and union with the God.

Brand Management Across Geographic Boundaries and Market Segments Essay

Apple’s encouragement of differentiation between product designs and its promotion of secrecy around new product launches heightens the Apple mystique. These create the Apple â€Å"halo effect,† where a buyer of one Apple product has a high probability of returning to Apple for other products as well. Apple’s has emphasized its unique retail stores through design for several of its flagship locations as well as tailoring the retail experience to include product â€Å"test drives†, classes and workshops geared teaching users about its products. With relatively light presence in lower-margin, higher-growth geographic areas, Apple will experience less of its halo effect and reduced product/brand recognition, lowering sales potential. With China and India estimated to make up about 66% of PC market growth through 2010, this could be a significant challenge for Apple. Competition Against the Mac: Apple’s position is improving in the worldwide PC market; the Mac still represents a small fraction of the overall PC market. Apple enjoys a unique advantage of having something of a niche market without needing to compete directly with Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) and Microsoft (MSFT) operating systems for enterprise endorsement. Against the iPod: Although Apple remains the industry leader in PMPs, the competition is making significant gains. The popularity of flash-based PMPs is problematic for Apple, which has much stronger market presence in hard-drive based (HDD) players. To combat this, Apple may release a new flash-based line of players. Apple in the Living Room Apple’s iPod and iTunes are a powerful combination that fosters a network style of increasing returns. By selling iPods, Apple increases the consumer demand for music from iTunes. By placing more musical choices on iTunes there is more demand for iPods. Apple is shooting for the digital living room of the future. For example, Apple just released a â€Å"boom box† portable version of the iPod. This comes with a remote control. Apple is clearly trying to develop a stronger core competency in the entertainment area. Style at a Premium Apple’s products are trendy and stylish. After Jobs returned in 1997, Apple retained a special designer called Jonathan Ive to differentiate their computers. Ive’s design of the iMac included clear colorful cases that distinguished Apple computers. Apple positions its Macintosh computers as higher quality and higher price. HP, Dell, and other PC manufacturers are pricing many systems. Although the Mac Mini is a base model with few features, it comes in a very small and distinctive package. Apple portrays this computer as â€Å"Small is Beautiful†. (Apple) Likewise, the iPod Shuffle was Apple’s first entry of flash-memory-based portable music players. Apple and the Digital Lifestyle Apple not only dominates the music player market, its iLife suite provides consumers with easy-to-use software for music and video composition. With â€Å"podcast† a household word, Apple’s Garage Band application makes the recording of podcasts and music very easy. Operating Segments Apple breaks its sales into five â€Å"operating segments†. The chart below shows the sales by segment for each year 2002-2005. On a percentage basis, only the retail segment appears to be outperforming the others. Differentiation Apple pioneered the PDA market by introducing the Newton in 1993. Later, Apple introduced the easy-to-use iMac in 1998, and updates following 1998. In 2001, Apple hit another important historical point by launching iTunes. This marked the beginning of Apple’s new strategy of making the Mac the hub for the â€Å"digital lifestyle†. Apple then opened its own stores, in spite of protests by independent. Then Apple introduced the iPod, central to the â€Å"digital lifestyle† strategy. Philip W. Schiller, VP of Worldwide Product Marketing for Apple, stated, â€Å"iPod is going to change the way people listen to music.† He was right. Apple continued their innovative streak with advancements in flat-panel LCDs for desktops in 2002 and improved notebooks in 2003. In 2003, Apple released the iLife package, containing improved versions of iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes. Apple continued its digital lifestyle strategy by launching iTunes Music Store online in 2003, In 2003, Apple released the world’s fastest PC (Mac G5).

The current Economic Situation in SA, India and Germany

Since the successful hosting of the roll cup football 2010 AS has sustained GAFF at Just under 20%. IN has been spending a large portion of its GAP on GAFF and this increased even more in 2004 to 2007 when they saw an increase from approximately 25% to 33%. GE has seen a gradual decline in GAFF however we expect to see this continue at the same rate as Germany continues to invest in renewable energy technology and infrastructure. Extrapolating IN and AS GAFF to 2020 we expect to see much the same ratio and a moving average extrapolation through to 2020 has been used for both countries.Economic theory states that gross savings, made up from the surplus between income and expenditure of households, business and government, is used to finance GAFF. The assumption is that these savings are stored in financial institutions and these institutions lend the savings to entrepreneurs and businesses in order for them to invest in capital. We can see from Fig. A. 9 in Appendix A that the correla tion between the proportion spent by the 3 countries on GAFF is proportional to the countries gross savings.AS savings as a percentage of GAP is extremely low in comparison to both GE and IN. Although AS can lend money in order to fund GAFF which it does this is not an ideal situation. It is essential for a country to consistently spend on GAFF as it is the capital which grows and sustains any economy. The culture in AS is not to save and in order to consistently fund capital it is essential for the AS public to start to save. 12 Fig. A. II in Appendix A indicates human development index (HID) for AS, IN and GE for the period 1995 to 2020.The HID is a measurement of life expectancy, educational attainment and income. The value expressed by HID is a value between O and 1 . The human development index is a measure of equality within a country and a value of 1 would mean perfect equality ND O would mean perfect inequality. As expected GE the developed country has the highest HID rating with an average of over 0. 9 since 2005. AS comes in second place with an average of 6. 19% from 2005 to 2014. AS has one of the world's most progressive constitutions and is based on the belief that AS belongs to all who live in it.AS is not without its equality challenges and unemployment, declining education system (WEFT global competitiveness report rates AS education as 46th out of 148 countries), high crime rates (rape in AS is the highest in the world), and widening gap twine rich and poor. IN score worst on the HID as a result of a large population many of whom live in abject poverty. It is however nice to see that things in IN are changing and they have come a long way since 1995 when they scored only 0. 4 HID and in 2014 they scored 0. 56 Just less than AS.Extrapolating GE HID to 2020 we SE no reason for any change and expect to see consistent value Just above 0. 9 for the whole period 2014 to 2020. Extrapolating AS HID to 2020 we expect the effects of a less competitive education system coupled with increasing unemployment, growing crime ate and widening of the gap between rich and poor to stagnate any improvements and predict a possible decrease in the HID for AS over the period 2014 to 2020. Inequality in IN is still a problem and we predict moderate improvement in HID but until there is a fundamental change especially in inequality between gender IN is unlikely to exceed 0. On the HID scale before 2020. 13 3. Conclusion 14 4. References 15 Appendix A 1 1. Introduction This assignment presents a range of economic variables from 1995 to present day and then extrapolates these variables to 2020. The economic variables are presented n three countries: South Africa (AS) India (IN) Germany (GE). The assignment explains trends and reasons for changes including the interrelationships between the economic variables, the countries presented, global economic forces and other socio-political economic factors within the specific country being described.AS is an upper-middle-income, emerging market economy and has been so for over 50 years. AS has an abundant supply of natural resources and a diversified well developed economy which boasts a service sector which accounts for more than 65% of total economic activity. AS has shown impressive GAP growth since it was welcomed back onto the international stage after spending many years in economic isolation from the rest of the world. AS has a functional infrastructure which falls short predominantly in the shortage of energy which has contributed to slowing economic growth.Eskimo, the AS parental power supplier, is building two new MAMMA coal fired power stations (Medium and Sessile) which were due to come on line in 2012 and when finally completed should relieve the energy crisis AS has faced since 2007. AS faces a number of other challenges which will be discussed in the odd of this assignment. If AS is to escape the middle income trap it needs to realism a GAP growth in excess of 6% for over 20 years. IN has a long history which includes British colonization.After years of passive civil disobedience and resistance to British rule, by the likes of Mahatma Ghanaian, IN finally got its independence in 1947. Economic reforms in 1991 helped IN to average over 6% growth from 1998 to 2014. India has a rapidly developing economy that is well diversified specializing in the IT and business service sectors capitalizing on a highly educated and skilled workforce. IN has many challenges including a large population many of whom live in abject poverty, government corruption and pollution which has caused extensive damage to the environment.GE in terms of purchasing power parity (POP) is the 5th largest economy in the world and boasts the largest economy in Europe. GE is considered a upper-income developed economy and is renowned as a leading machinery, car, chemical and technology exporter in the world market. GE has a highly productive, highly skilled, technical and well educa ted population which enables them to remain competitive on the European and global stage. In 1999 GE and 10 other European countries formed the European Union (EX.) and they introduced a common currency called the Euro.GE has committed to decommission all its Nuclear power stations, which account for 25% of Gee's power supply, by 2022. GE is investing extensively in renewable resources and is emerging as a world leader in this sector. 2. Discussion Inflation 2. 1 There are many causes of inflation, we take a look at a few of the causes in the context of the countries in the spotlight: Demand factors Rise in production costs Exchange rate fluctuations The crude oil price The cost of labor. Fig. A. In Appendix A indicates the average annual inflation for AS, IN and GE from 1995 to present and extrapolated to 2020. From Fig. A. L, it can be noted that GE a developed country has a very stable inflation rate that is consistently low averaging 1. 56% for the period 1995 to 2014. The preva iling reason for this is that GE has a very strong stable currency and is not exposed to exchange rate fluctuations. GE also has a very low population growth with an average year on year of -0. 4% for the period 1996 to 2014 which means any increase in demand for goods from GE has to come room the global market and not within its own borders. The rise in production costs as a result of high labor costs in GE possibly accounts for the majority of the inflation. GE has to large extent countered inflation by mechanizing production and reducing labor inputs coupled with the fact they have a highly skilled, educated and productive workforce which counters the high cost of labor in GE.Germany inflation is extrapolated, using a moving average calculation, to 2020. Consideration was given to GE stable inflationary history and the strict austerity measures the EX. has chosen since the global recession in 2008. In contrast to the stability of inflation in GE, inflation in AS and IN the two de veloping countries has been extremely volatile. Although AS and IN have positive population growth and a growing middle income population which feeds internal demand for goods and services the AS and IN economies remain heavily reliant on the rest of the world.On the 18 July 2014, Gill Markus the SARA governor hiked interest rates by 25 basis points in an attempt to curb inflation. The hike in interest rates should have an effect on reducing inflation as the cost of credit increases and consumers tighten their belts. The extrapolation of the AS inflation data to 2020 is a mathematical moving average keeping within the targets set by the SARA of 3-6%. There is a growing risk that inflation is likely to exceed the SARA targets.Due to pressure in terms of slow economic growth SARA is unlikely to hike interest rates by too much as this would stifle economic growth. Business in AS is coming under increased pressure from Labor. MIMIC and NINJA Strikes in the Platinum belt coupled with the current NASSAU strike will inevitably increase the cost of labor which in turn will have a knock on effect on increasing inflation. The NC government are considering alternate employment development incentives which if successful will help reduce the cost of labor, accelerate economic growth and reduce inflation.AS is extremely exposed to crude oil price hikes and exchange rate fluctuations which cause the cost of imported goods to raise with a rise in exchange rates. SOLO has the potential to provide a buffer to the oil price and effects of exchange rate on landed oil price; however they operate on an import parity pricing model. The competitions commission has handed down heavy nines on SOLO and the regulation of the SOLO import parity pricing model is highly likely.This will roll out to the Plastics industry in AS and should have a positive effect on Job creation, lower input costs and effectively lower inflation. 2. 2 Economic Growth Fig. A. 2 in Appendix A indicates the gross domestic product (GAP) of three countries AS, IN and GE for the period 1995 to 2020. On the primary vertical axis is billions of international dollars the measure using purchasing power parity (POP) theory which enables us to negate the effects of exchange rates between countries and compare GAP in real terms.The GAP POP measure is interesting in that it shows the relative size of the 3 economies to each other. We can see Just how small AS is in terms of the bigger players and although this may be disconcerting it is important to remember that AS has the 23 largest economy in the world. On the secondary vertical axis (Fig. A. 2 in Appendix A) we can see the percentage change year on year in GAP. Between 1995 and 2007 AS and IN experienced 3. 6% and 6. 9% growth year on year. GE was not as successful with average growth of only 1. 6% over the same period.Then came he great recession or economic meltdown of 2008/2009 where all 3 countries saw a downturn in GAP especially AS and GE who registered a negative GAP growth in 2009. Inn's GAP growth only dipped to Just over 5% in 2009 showing a resilient economy not overly exposed to the rest of the world. In the recovery phase all three countries recovered well however a second dip in 2011 to 2012 hit IN the hardest and IN dipped to Just under 4% GAP growth in 2012. AS hosted the 2010 FIFE world cup soccer which created large scale infrastructural spending by the government through the recession period helping to boost the AS economy.Extrapolating GAP growth into 2020 for IN there is likely to be sustained albeit slower GAP growth. IN has a burgeoning youth who are very well educated, are willing to work for very little and can converse extremely well in English giving IN a competitive advantage on the global market in the business service sector. IN is however coming under a lot of pressure from the Philippines who are competing in similar global markets in the business service and IT support sectors. IN needs to loo k to new industries in order to sustain its GAP growth.Extrapolating GE GAP growth to 2020 we note that GE has a eclipsing population however with their commitment to renewable resource energy technology and the growing emphasis in the world on green initiatives it is likely that Germany will capitalist on this advantage in order to sustain very moderate GAP growth. GE has a responsibility to other EX. countries and the poor performance of other EX. players could curb economic growth in GE. AS has a lot of challenges it needs to overcome in order to achieve sustained growth and escape the middle- income economy trap that has been its nemesis for the last 50 years.AS needs to address its labor issues and overcome the growing gap between rich and poor. The world economic forum competitiveness report indicates a host of positive factors which AS can build on however there are a number of shortcomings and AS needs to address these if it wants to continue to grow its economy. Extrapolati ng AS growth to 2020, it is difficult to foresee the current AS government under its leadership making any major inroads to solving the macro economic problems that will allow AS to realism larger GAP growth.Coupled to this the fact that AS is highly dependent on China and Europe for economic growth, the outlook for AS is moderate and we could e stagnation or even a decline in GAP over the next few years. Extrapolating IN growth to 2020, we perceive continued high GAP growth which exceeds 6% annually possibly coming under pressure if the world market does not accommodate this growth and as it comes under increasing pressure from global competition I. E. Philippines. 2. 3 Unemployment Fig. A. In Appendix A indicates the unemployment rates as a percentage of the economically active population in AS, IN and GE. IN has the smallest reported unemployment rate of the three countries with an average over the period 1995 to 2014 of Just under 4%. GE which also boasts a very low unemployment rate has an average of 8. 3% for the same period. AS has an alarmingly high unemployment rate with an average of Just over 24% over the same period. What is most disconcerting is in spite of the fact that AS has shown relatively consistent GAP growth the unemployment rate has continued to grow.The AS government (the NC) is part of a tripartite alliance with COATIS (trade union) and the ASAP (communist party). Until this alliance is broken it is unlikely AS will review labor regulations which would make it easier for business to employ more people. According to Eddie Rood, AS does not have an unemployment problem it has an employment problem. In other words it is too difficult for business to employ people and until regulations are focused more in favor of the employer than the employee the unemployment rate in AS is likely to consistently increase until 2020.In GE and IN there is likely to be very little change in the unemployment rate shown in the extrapolation which is a weighted moving average extrapolated through to 2020. 2. 4 Exchange Rates Fig. A. 4 in Appendix A indicates the average annual exchange rates for AS, IN and GE or the period 1995 to 2020. The primary vertical axis indicates IN Rupees exchange rate to the US dollar (USED) and the secondary vertical axis indicates Rand's and German Marks to the USED. GE which is a developed upper-income country has the least volatile exchange rate and has yielded an average of 0. 3 German Marks and Euro from 2002 to the USED. The IN Rupee and the AS rand, although depicted on different scales, have followed very similar trends indicating the volatility and dependence of developing countries currency on external global economic factors. The AS Rand is under a lot of pressure at present with regular service delivery protests and wildcat strikes like the platinum belt strike and the current NASSAU metal workers strikes followed by the ASIATIC strike due to commence on Thursday 24 July 2014.Coupled to this poor G AP growth, corruption, lack of service delivery and lackluster leadership from the ruling party is promoting uncertainty and possibly long term negative sentiment. Extrapolation of the exchange rate data for all 3 countries was carried out based on the MIFF projections on GAP in national currency vided by GAP in dollars. This extrapolation was double checked against factors that might influence the exchange rate in the form of Inflation, Gold Price, supply and demand for USED and SARA monetary policy.In the case of AS the possibility that AS becomes less attractive to foreign investors and the inflow of USED reduces is highly likely. The net effect of fewer dollars inflow into AS can result in a weaker rand. The SARA has a very strict fiscal policy which pegs the targeted inflation rate in AS at 3 to 6%. Under the watchful eye of Gill Markus the SARA attempts to curb inflation by easing the Report Rate which is the rate at which the SARA lends money to other banks.By raising the Rep ort rate the cost of credit is increased which in turn should reduce demand and with less money there should be less demand for goods forcing the price of goods to come down subsequently reducing Inflation. If inflation is lowered then the risk of AS goods becoming too expensive, (as a result of inflation increasing production costs), on the export market is reduced. AS is the world's 5th largest Gold producer and gold production and exports account for a large percentage of the inflow of SAID. A change in the price of gold has a large effect on the inflow of dollars which can subsequently lead to a depreciation of the rand.Although the USED is one of the most sought after and used currencies in the world fluctuations in the USED with specific reference to the appreciation of the USED can mean the Rand will depreciate. IN is subject to the same forces as AS with respect to exchange rates and the sum of these forces account for the volatility of the two currencies. A weaker exchange rate promotes local manufacturing due the opportunities to gain higher margins on the international markets. The volatility of the developing countries currencies counteracts a large portion of potential growth, due to relative uncertainty and high risk.It would be better if the exchange rate was consistently weak or even if it was consistently strong it would allow for less risk in investments into capital. Extrapolating GE exchange rate to 2020 is easier as the variability is small and we do not expect to see much change in exchange rates from GE as shown on Fig. AAA in Appendix A. In the case of AS and IN extrapolated to 2020 we expect to see a rise in exchange rates and a tapering off towards 2020. Both IN and AS will remain exposed to world economic forces and inflows and outflows of portfolio foreign investment. 2. 5 Interest Rates Fig. A. In Appendix A indicates the Interest rates for AS, IN and GE for the period 1997 to 2020. Interest rate refers to a rate which is charged f or the use of or loan of money. The interest rate which is depicted in Fig. A. 5 in Appendix A refers to the rate at which the reserve bank lends to other banks. The interest rate is one of a number of tools used by the reserve banks (central banks) to tighten or relax the monetary policy. The general trend for all three countries is a relaxing of their respective monetary policy in terms of interest rates as we see a big decline in interest rates for the period 1997 to 2014.The expectation with a lower interest rate is that credit is cheaper and money supply would grow quickly driving economic growth as the demand for goods and services increases and producers scramble to catch up with demand. Fig. A. L in Appendix A indicates that all three countries have been experiencing positive GAP growth barring the 2008/2009 world economic recession. The effect of pressure on supply of goods and services tends to drive the price up as odds and services become scarcer and consumers are willin g to pay more this drives inflation up.The SARA has set targets of 3 to 6% on Inflation as it is a proportional measure of the effects of hiking or lowering interest rates. The 2008/2009 recession has caused a slower demand for credit and lower interest rates from all 3 countries especially GE with interest rates of well below 1% is an attempt by the Deutsche Bundestag to fuel the GE economy. In AS, the SARA has raised interest rates (tightened fiscal policy) in an attempt to curb inflation and keep it within the 3 to 6% targets. The data for the 3 countries is extrapolated to 2020 based on a moving average.In AS the Interest Rate trend from 2014 to 2020 is predicted upwards to as high as 9% in 2020 as AS inflation and exchange rates remain under pressure and the SARA attempts to control the inflation within its targets. In IN the interest rates are predicted to continue to reduce to 2020 to stimulate the IN economy to grow. The pressure on food sources in India could drive Inflatio n upwards causing an increase in the interest rates. Similarly in GE the interest rates are expected to remain low with a gradual rise from 2014 to 2020.Contrary to the economic recovery plan adopted in USA (economic stimulus plan), GE and its EX. partners have opted for a more conservative approach and austerity measures have caused a slowdown in private spending. In order to fuel the economy and provide cheap credit the interest rates are extremely low yet GAP growth remains slow. Until there is an upturn in the economy interest rates in GE are likely to remain very low from 2014 to 2020. 2. 6 Trade Balance and Current Account Balance Fig. A. 6. 1 in Appendix A indicates the trade balance in AS, IN and GE for the period 995 to 2020.The trade balance is calculated by subtracting total import payments from total export earnings including gold and non-gold products. AS and GE are shown in USED on the secondary vertical axis and IN is shown on the primary axis. Trade balances for all 3 countries follow similar trends to the current account balance. The platinum strikes which lasted 5 months will have a negative effect on the balance of trade and subsequently the current account balance. Fig. A. 6. 2 in Appendix A indicates the current account balance in AS, IN and GE for the period 1995 to 2020.The current account includes trade balance and service, income and transfer receipts less service, income and transfer payments. Fig. A. 6. 2 primary vertical axis indicates the IN and AS current account balance in USED. The secondary vertical axis indicates the GE current account balance in USED. We can see that up until 2001 GE was running a marginal current account deficit and how they have turned this deficit into a large current account surplus. Germany is a leading technology supplier and has developed strong trade relations with China and the rest of the world.On the back of the Chinese and world economic growth the Germans have been able to capitalist and show a g rowing current account surplus. IN and AS who were pretty much break even on current account balance up until 2004 have embarked on development strategies. As can be seen in Fig. A. 6. 2 in Appendix A, IN has been a lot more aggressive in borrowing money and growing the current account deficit than AS. AS is often accused by world investors for not borrowing enough to boost development and economic growth.Extrapolating the data on to 2020 1 have taken the MIFF projections to 2018 and extrapolated to 2020 using a moving average calculation. AS would be expected to grow the current account deficit as they spend more on infrastructure in an attempt to stimulate the economy. AS imports a large variety of goods and services and exports predominantly natural resources. It would be wise for AS to develop industry that can add value to the natural resources in order to add value and ultimately increase its export value whilst simultaneously decreasing the need to import. . 7 Money Supply an d Credit Growth Money growth is shown on the primary vertical axis and credit growth as a percentage of GAP is shown on the secondary vertical axis for all three countries. The creation of money is largely dependent on bank deposits which when this money is leant out by the bank triggers the money creating process. The balance of payments and government finances are both major contributing factors to the creation of money. Gross savings, credit growth are also triggers for money growth as they contribute to the amount of bank deposits.Fig. A. 7. 1 in Appendix indicates MM annual money growth and credit growth as a percentage of GAP growth. Although there is considerable offset between the 3 countries the money growth trends year on year between all three countries are very similar. In the years preceding 2008 AS and IN showed consistent annual MM money growth of above 10%. In the global recession of 2008/2009 AS was hardest hit and dropped down to a money growth of just over 2% but has recovered to Just over 5% and is expected to be sluggish in money growth extrapolating to 2020.IN managed to remain less effected by the global recession and has retained annual money MM growth in excess of 10%. IN is expected to show more conservative money growth figures to 2020 as the world economy remains sluggish. GE has shown a reduced money MM growth and is even wowing negative money growth since 2009. The trend extrapolated to 2020 is expected to remain much the same. In AS credit growth as a percentage of GAP is extremely high at an average of over 185% of GAP since 2004. In comparison to GE (129%) and IN (67%) for the same period.The growth in credit does not result in bank deposits and subsequently an increase in credit growth has a negative impact on money growth. 2. 8 Budget Deficit and Government Debt Fig. A. 8 in Appendix A indicates the budget deficit and government debt as a percentage of GAP for AS, IN and GE for the period 1995 to 2020. The budget deficit for all three countries is shown on the primary vertical axis and the government debt for all 3 countries is shown on the secondary vertical axis. As a general rule of thumb the budget deficit should not exceed 3%.Since the late sass's AS has managed to consistently achieve budget deficits lower than 3% and in 2006 even managed to achieve a budget surplus. Since 2007 the budget deficit for AS and IN has increased with the AS budget consistently above the illusive 3% value. Since the 2008 and 2009 recession the AS government has, in similar fashion to the USA government's tumulus plan, understandably been spending more in an attempt to fuel the economy and stimulate much needed economic growth. Similar to AS IN has increased government debt and is slowly bringing their budget deficit down from deficit in excess of 10% to below 9% and trending downwards.GE has decreased its government debt as a percentage of GAP and has firm control of its budget deficit showing consistent budget surpluse s since 2012. Extrapolating the budget deficits to 2020 we can expect GE to remain in a surplus situation with AS stabilizing and remaining at Just above 4% with a possibility of returning to below 3% budget deficit. IN is expected to perform well and reduce their budget deficit to below 7% consistently to 2020. In terms of Government debt, GE is expected to consistently reduce government debt in line with the conservative economic plan and in line with EX. guidelines.AS is expected to increase government debt up to 2020 as it needs to stimulate economic growth through government spending. IN will continue to reduce government debt to 2020 as indicated in Fig. A. 8 in Appendix A. 2. 9 Gross Fixed Capital Formation the AS public to start to save. The Gross savings for all three countries has been extrapolated based on a moving average. . 10 Human Development Index Fig. A. II in Appendix A indicates human development index (HID) for AS, IN and GE for the period 1995 to 2020.The HID is a measurement of life expectancy, educational attainment and income. The value expressed by HID is a value between O and 1 . The human development index is a measure of equality within a country and a value of 1 would mean perfect equality and O would mean perfect inequality. As expected GE the developed country has the highest HID rating with an average of over 0. 9 since 2005. AS comes in second place with an average of 6. 19% from 2005 to 2014. AS has nee of the world's most progressive constitutions and is based on the belief that AS belongs to all who live in it.AS is not without its equality challenges and unemployment, declining education system (WEFT global competitiveness report rates AS education as 46th out of 148 countries), high crime rates (rape in AS is the highest in the world), and widening gap between rich and poor. IN score worst on the HID as a result of a large population many of whom live in abject poverty. It is however nice to see that things in IN are chang ing and they have come a long way since 1995 when they scored only 0. HID and in 2014 they scored 0. 56 Just less than AS.Extrapolating GE HID to 2020 we SE no reason for any change and expect to see consistent value Just above 0. 9 for the whole period 2014 to 2020. Extrapolating AS HID to 2020 we expect the effects of a less competitive education system coupled with increasing unemployment, growing crime rate and widening of the gap between rich and poor to stagnate any improvements and predict a possible decrease in the HID for AS over the period 2014 to 2020. Inequality in IN is still a problem and we predict moderate improvement in HID but until there is a fundamental change especially in

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Essay Example Another very admirable feature of the behavior of Germans is the respect of the younger for the elders. German children respect their parents a lot which lays the foundation of a strong family system in Germany. The young ones spend time with the elders, seek advice from them and try to benefit from their experience and wisdom. Germans also â€Å"respect foreign cultures and learn their languages† (Bernstein 45). On the other hand, Americans are more focused upon equality of rights and individual’s freedom irrespective of age difference. They are not quite as particular as Germans about showing reverence for their elders while communicating with them. American youth tends to cultivate a culture of friendship with the elderly and since equality is one of the fundamentals of friendship, the young ones tend to approach the elderly as their parallels. Unlike the Germans, the Americans don’t make much effort to learn the foreign languages. Instead, the foreigners ente ring America learn the Americans’

The Downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

The Downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate - Thesis Example Shogun had decided to close Japan to the West. However, forced by various situations, Tokugawa Shogun was pushed to terminate the directive and open Japan to the West. This was a definite sign that Shogun was irresolute.2 However, besides that there were numerous other reasons behind the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogun. The Shogun’s power and influence was weakening. The power of Shogun over a large number of Daimyo had already declined by 1862. Commodore Perry of the United States pushed Shogun to allow Western powers into Japan.3 The Emperor requested the presence of the Shogun to Kyoto in 1863 and compelled him to agree to an imperial directive to expel the Western powers from Japan. After a year, the Shogun was again sent for Kyoto, where he was forced to consent that sooner or later the Emperor would integrate the daimyo with their realm.4 The daimyos of Echzaw, Choshu, and Satsuma were also admitted as Imperial counselors. In 1866, the Emperor ordered the Shogun to chast ise Choshu but the Shogun himself was overpowered by Choshu. From then on internal problems emerged which led to internal conflicts and uprisings and finally on the 9th of November 1867 Shogun decided to leave his post.5 This was the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the launching of Meiji Restoration and Japan’s modernization. Throughout their regime Tokugawa Shoguns attempted to build and strengthen their own influence and authority. They exerted their greatest effort to keep the power in their hands. Unfortunately, they failed to do so. There were foreign intrusion and internal problems and conflicts which led to the gradual weakening of the Shoguns’ power. This brought about the eventual downfall. As argued by B.R. Chatterji, â€Å"Probably no contemporary European society was more civilized and polished. But it was not a living, growing organism. It had to change and its rules did not desire change.†6 (Chaurasla 16) The

The Learning Curve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Learning Curve - Essay Example As the essay starts, David Sedaris is found saying â€Å"The teaching job was offered at the last minute, when the scheduled teacher found a better paying job of delivering pizza† (Sedaris, 2009, p.83). This sentence is very funny as it creates a situation in the mind of readers that the scheduled teacher was just about to make his way to school but then he changed his path and opted to deliver pizza for more money. Thinking about a teacher (or about to be teacher) delivering pizza on a bike itself seems very funny. In the very next sentence David Sedaris is found saying that he was given two weeks to prepare and in those two weeks he did prepare by standing in front of the mirror and practicing â€Å"Hello , class, my name is Mr. Sedaris† (Sedaris, 2009, p.83). The author has used irony in this particular sentence to elucidate his situation. He was given a couple of weeks to prepare notes and practise the way he would teach instead he spent those weeks in practising ho w he would introduce himself to the class. In one part of the essay, David Sedaris writes â€Å"childbirth is one of those details that looks to slip the mind of most opera characters† (Sedaris, 2009, p.85). It was funny to read this because of the situation that was created before this sentence actually emerged in the essay. David Sedaris was describing Victoria Buchanan high-school reunion and how she passed out and ended up with a hippie. It was then the writer said the following words. This type of humour is called ‘cheesy comedy.’ Under such type of comedy a writer looks to humorously degrade someone or a group of people by making through jokes. In reality people forget that someone is being degraded because the joy of laughter is greater than the insult being made (Young, 2002, p.95). At one other portion of the essay the writer writes â€Å"Nobody dies on Wednesday – hadn’t these people learned anything?† (Sedaris, 2009, p.86). The fun ny thing about the sentence is that David Sedaris is the teacher and he is asking whether the students had or had not learned anything. His clueless state of mind together with the absurd reasoning that nobody dies on Wednesday makes him sound like a ‘slapstick’ comedian. According to Judy Carter, slapstick comedy is something that makes an actor look foolish and funny at a very serious entourage. Thus when David Sedaris says that nobody dies on Wednesday on a serious situation it makes him sound goofy and slapstick (Carter, 2001, p.60). Although it might be used as light humour, some of the text might be offending to some of the readers and could be regarded as a little controversial. When David Sedaris says that he managed to get the teaching job as the scheduled teacher failed to show up because he got a better paid pizza delivery job, he seems to degrade the teaching occupation. Teaching is regarded as a very respectable job as it is expected from the teachers to im part knowledge and groom the youth of a nation. But it does not look like David Sedaris places the same importance to it. Also he is shown as an irresponsible teacher setting the wrong kind of example to the other teachers to follow. There comes huge responsibility with this occupation and the writer clearly laid more emphasis on his semblance when he talked about rehearsing in front of the mirror. Though funny it sets the wrong message to the larger audience. The

Early Childhood Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Early Childhood Assessment - Essay Example ely participate in the process because they happen to spend most of the time with the child, and hence, are the best source of information about the child’s behavior. Assessments of young children are made primarily to enhance their readiness for school (NAP, 2011). Learning problems, if not attended to in the very early years of the child’s academic career, can aggravate with the passage of time and it is far more difficult to make them leave in a grown-up child as compared to an infant or toddler. The pattern of early childhood development is the most fundamental determinant of the development in the later years. In the contemporary age, there is so much competition among students that a child can not afford to be weak in any sense if he/she wants to build the career on the basis of his/her grades. In order to enable the child achieve his/her full potential and optimize on his/her skills to make best use of them, it is imperative that their problems are addressed at the right time, i.e. early

Tropical Monsoon Climate Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tropical Monsoon Climate - Term Paper Example Tropical monsoon climate is mainly found in the coastal regions of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, southwest of Africa, northeast and southeast of Brazil and French Guiana (Ritter, 2006). According to Glantz (2003), there are two monsoons dominating in Asia – winter northeast monsoon, which comes from November to February and summer which comes from may to September. They are the majority critical climatic factors that come with most of the regions precipitation. Asia is renowned for its annual drought and flood especially in Bangladesh and India due to seasonal shift of weather. While the flood alone covers 7.7 million hectares in India, it covers 3.1 million hectares in Bangladesh. Tropical cyclone is another major feature of climate in this region. In particular, it affects two areas – northern Indian Ocean, which affects Bangladesh and northwestern Pacific Ocean, which affects Vietnam and Philippines. EL Nino-southern oscillation (ENSO) is another extensive phenomenal that has major influences in climate in a number of countries. In Africa there are three major areas where tropical monsoon occurs namely the southern coast of western Africa at 5 degrees north and 9 degrees north latitude, the Congo basin, which lies between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south, and the remaining part which lies in between 15 degrees north and 15 degrees south. The climatic conditions in Africa differ from tropical monsoon in Asia especially in Congo Basin and southern coast of West Africa where heavy rainfall is experienced all through the year. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 10 mm in Sahara and 2000 mm in equator and other parts of West Africa. Precipitation is caused by convection process while movements of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and large-scale air mass movement brings seasonal variation. Drought in Africa is inevitable – it recurs from time to time and as a result, food crisis is a big problem that puts the population at risk (Glantz, 2003). Tropical monsoon climate in America is common in no rthern parts of South America and Central America where important topography and climatological consequences are found. Rainfall is brought by general circulation of trade winds. Andes Mountains is a flat area where major humid part of South America lies. Salinger (2005) records that ITCZ controls the seasonal movements that are smaller than Southeast Asia and the general circulation of this area. Droughts are severe in northern part of South America unlike Asia where major hazard are cyclones and floods. In humid and sub-humid tropics, agriculture is very vital; take an example of Asia where agriculture is an important economic sector. According to Salinger (2005), Asia, in 1993, employed more than half of the labor forces, which brought 63% of the gross domestic produce (GDP). Most export comes from agricultural products that brings a great amount of foreign exchange earnings. In this region rice, being the major crop, constitutes the largest part of production while maize and whe at follow. Nevertheless, agriculture experiences vulnerability in humid and sub-humid tropics attributable to some factor. With the exception of Africa where food security has been a problem for years, agriculture is also vulnerable in other countries but with minimal severity. Tropical cyclone also causes severe damage to the agriculture sector especially in Asia. Crop and livestock

Call Center Report- from a cultural perspective (includes Essay

Call Center Report- from a cultural perspective (includes communication) - Essay Example The organization acquired necessary property for the call centre and a number of key management employees having British citizenship will supervise the call centre. A UK based company extended the business into the finance and insurance sector with a banking and finance division which was incorporated with around 50,000 customer accounts in mid 2000s. Overtime it became costlier to provide services to the customers; hence to achieve financial savings – in 2011, a decision was taken as part of the five-year strategic plan to open an inbound call centre outside the UK; afterward Manila, Philippine was chosen. The aim of this call centre is to achieve financial savings as well as the benefits of outsourcing while providing satisfactory services to the customers of the company. This report is being prepared to achieve the following objectives: Manila is one of the most energetic and diverse cities of Asia. This city is an extensive mass of humanity, acutely reflecting long heritage of cultures and classes. Straddling the Pasing River’s delta, the Philippines’ capital is actually a group of cities fused into one. There are plenty of highlights in each sub city within Manila. Almost all sorts of life-style facilities and entertainments are available in this city, a number of world’s biggest shopping-malls are in Manila. Depending on the interest of the people vibrant nightlives attract the tourist to Manila (Margaret W. Sullivan, â€Å"The Philippines: Pacific Crossroads†). In the Philippines call centres were started with the services of email responses and relevant managing services. These centres have the capabilities managing and maintaining all types of customer care, customer relations including technical support, travel services, education, financial services, business to business support, business to customer

The Spherical Spatial Designs and Its Meanings in The Pantheon, Rome Term Paper

The Spherical Spatial Designs and Its Meanings in The Pantheon, Rome - Term Paper Example By looking at the vast span of the empire at that time, dome structures was almost everywhere. From the temples, churches, up to the administrative buildings, the dome was a clear Roman mark in the Roman urban zones. By looking at the existing structures of today, it is clear that the Romans directly influenced modern day engineers and architects. Arenas, stadiums and government buildings are the favored pieces that exemplify the classical Roman built. In fact, the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. in the US is one of the premier heirs of this type of architecture. Also, the presence of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican could also attest to the influence of the Romans. Indeed, the fall of Rome did not hinder the end of its influential art and architecture. From the Middle-Ages, the Renaissance, up to the dawn of the 18th to the 19th centuries, the spirit of the Romans are present in building structures. With the remarkable Pantheon as the culmination of the ingenious Roman dom e, this paper would concentrate on the spherical spatial design of the structure. It will explain the prevalence of these kinds of structures and their significance in the Roman society at that time. By historicizing the Pantheon and narrating the context when it was built, this paper would arrive to a closer answer that pertains to the meanings of the spheres and curvatures that dominate the Pantheon. This paper will then delve into a more focused analysis of its interior. It will try to connect the presence of the pillars to the importance of the spherical feel that the Pantheon creates in its layout. The utter shift from a pagan to a Christian worship will also be explained in this paper. The importance of the dome to the pagans and the Christians will be viewed as varying interpretations based on their respective tenets and beliefs. This paper on the Pantheon’s spherical built is intended to shed light on the mysteries that surround the architecture of this Roman structur e. By the end of this study, it should give a clear understanding on the harmony and the coordination of every detail within the Pantheon. The different interpretations of the pagan and Christian should be evident and conclusive as well. For the fulfilment of this research, it will take into account various secondary sources such as books and journal articles. The historical methodology will be used in order to corroborate information and to explain the arguments of the topic at hand. The Roman Context: the Pantheon and the Society in the 1st Century Before doing an analysis on the predominance of the spherical Roman structures and its obvious use in the Pantheon, a brief narrative of the Roman society should be explained in order to contextualize the matter at hand. During the 1st century, the Roman Republic had been expanding rapidly and was transforming into an empire. The principle of expansionism was the primary rationale of the Romans’ will to subject the whole Mediterr anean under its control. At the dawn of that century, the concept of the republic was rightfully replaced with the title of the empire, primarily due to the vast expanse of its territories (Hollister, 183-189). Under the Principate, the leadership of the princep or the â€Å"first prince† caused a conquest which produced frontiers from the Tigris-Euphrates Valley in the east, the Atlantic in

Globalisation on Service Economies in the Uk Essay Example for Free

Globalisation on Service Economies in the Uk Essay MacKinnon amp; Cumbers (2011) defined globalisation as †¦ the increased connections †¦ in flows of goods, services, money, information and people across national and continental borders. . The globalisation process may be decomposed into constituent processes in order to explain the impacts it has had, which will be discussed more later. In turn, a service economy is one, or part of one, that is based on trade in services. A service is characterised by its intangibility, inseparability (the simultaneous production and consumption of services), heterogeneity and perishability over time and space (Regan 1963; Rathmell 1966; Shostack 1977; Zeithaml et al 1985, cited in Wolak 1998). Alternatively, services are economic activities which have no direct involvement with agriculture, mining, or manufacturing (OECD 2000). Both macro and meso-scale impacts will be examined, starting with the macro; how the service sector as a whole has changed and how globalisation may have fundamentally changed the concept of what a service might be. Inequality as a result of globalisation will then be discussed with particular reference to the North-South divide, before examining market structure changes in terms of levels of competition in the service sector. Finally, meso-scale impacts will be considered, emphasising wage differences in the UKs service sector. Figure [ 1 ]: Percentage share of employment in the UK by sector, 1980-2008 Source: ONS 2009, cited in Faulconbridge 2010 The most profound impact has been the expansion of the service sector since the onset of globalisation in the mid-20th century. Figure 1 shows the increase in service employment from 1980 2008. Further to this, the %GDP generated by the service sector in this same period rose by approximately 20% (OECD 1996, cited in Julius ;amp; Butler 1998), closely mirroring the data in figure 1. Explanation for this can be found in the international division of labour (IDL) that has occurred, in which agriculture and manufacturing have moved abroad to areas that have a comparative advantage over the UK in these sectors. Bryson (2008) referred to this process as the first global shift. The result is, as Figure 1 shows, that as agriculture and manufacturing decline in the UK, services fill the gap that they have left behind. But what led to the first global shift? Offshoring, the act of transferring (predominantly lower-skilled) operations to least-cost locations abroad, is a relatively new concept which has occurred with globalisation (Coe et al 2007). In particular, the rise of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) that are involved with multiple economic sectors, has created a pronounced IDL with East Asia as a dominant choice of location for outsourcing and offshoring. An example of this is Primark Ltd, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc. Primarks retail stores -the service part of its operations- are predominantly in the UK, but it sources its products (manufacturing that would otherwise be done in the UK) from East Asia (Primark 2011). This split encapsulates one way in which services in the UK have grown; at the expense of other sectors. Another explanation for the expansion is the liberalisation of the UK economy. As globalisation took hold, the view that free trade was the most efficient way to trade became dominant, a philosophy termed neoliberalism (Peet et al 2011). The result was the formation of trade blocs and international organisations, for example the development of the European Union into what it is today. Flows of capital, labour and goods between constituents of the EU are uninhibited by tariffs and quotas, leading to a disproportionate increase of trade in services between the UK and Europe as the costs of trade fell. Evidence for how liberalism has worked is found in the Big Bang in London. In 1986 the UK government attempted the most rapid, and most comprehensive regulatory relaxation ever attempted by an exchange (Clemons amp; Weber 1990: 233). By abolishing trade restrictions such as the minimum scale for commissions and opening the exchange to outsiders, deregulation made the City more attractive as a marketplace, thus regaining its competitive advantage which it had lost to other cities such as New York (Clemons amp; Weber 1990). But as Londons capital-intensive sector grew in size and scale, so did the whole service sector. Wages were pushed upwards and created a mood of optimism (The Economist 2011), increasing the demand for lower-paid services such as cleaning, which are vital for a city to function (Sokol 2011). As well as this, knowledge-based services such as accountancy or stock broking also flourished due to the increased volume of trade. Globalisation, more specifically the spread of technology, has also changed the fundamentals of a service. The earlier definition of service comes from literature from the mid-to-late 20th century, but more recently services have begun to transcend the characteristics of being inseparable and perishable, allowed by technological advancements (OECD, 2000). An example of this can be found by examining the relatively new concept of internet search engines; it is a service produced at one point in time, yet it is available for use at almost any point in time and space, and by virtually unlimited amounts of people. Through technology, a whole host of different types of services have arisen, contributing to the expansion of the service sector. One particular new type of service is a business service (BS). Shown in figure 1, the increase in employment in BSs since 1980 is due to firms externalising and outsourcing work (Faulconbridge 2010), for example employing an accountant from a specialist accountancy firm rather than one in-house. Externalisation can be explained by the concept of the spatial division of expertise (Bryson amp; Rusten 2006, cited in Daniels et al 2008), which exploits the theory of comparative advantage for knowledge and expertise, at a meso-scale. As such, the demand for BSs has increased, pushing forward BSs prominence in the UK economy. Another impact is the widening of the North-South divide in England, observed at least as early as 1988 (Green 1988), during the Thatcher governments implementation of neoliberalistic policies. Evidence for this is found in much literature (Martin, 2010; French et al 2010; Mackinnon ;amp; Cumbers, 2011; Bryson, 2008), arguing that the spatial shift to services in the UK has been uneven; growth in knowledge and capital intensive services have been concentrated in the South-East and London, whilst labour-intensive (and therefore likely to be lower-paid) services developed in the rest of the UK, in particular the North. This spatial inequality of the UK service economy can be attributed to a number of globalisation factors, but one of importance was the already-established spatial division of expertise between London and the rest of the UK. London had been the capital of the workshop of the world, thus established as a centre of knowledge, so as global markets became more integrated, and with events such as the Big Bang, the size and scale at which Londons knowledge economy operated increased disproportionately relative to the rest of the UKs. Further to this, the divide is exacerbated by exposure to world market forces that results from liberalisation. The financial crisis of 2007 which started in the USA caused the collapse of Northern Rock, RBS, and HBOS, major banks whose headquarters were based in Newcastle and Edinburgh. French et al (2010) argued that their fates signalled the end of Edinburgh and Newcastle as regional financial centres, thus further eroding the spatial equality of types of services in the UK. Indeed, Newcastle is increasingly being known as being a location of choice for outsourcing call centres (Richardson et al 2000). Exposure to world markets was mentioned when discussing spatial inequality caused by globalisation. But exposure has also meant an increased level of competition in the service sector as TNCs expand their operations. An example of this has been the inward foreign investment in the supermarket industry by firms such as Aldi since 1989, creating competition and adversely changing the market structure from the view of domestic firms. Aldi hoped to create 1500 new jobs from 2008-2013 (Wallop 2008), implying that inward foreign investment has brought positive impacts for service sector employment. On the other hand there are some service industries for which increased competition has had very few positive impacts, notably the coastal tourism industry. Blackpools local economy is based heavily upon services related to tourism, but with the advancement of travel technology exposing this market to international competition, the tourism sector has declined considerably in recent years (Singleton 2009) along with its related industries. Figure [ 2 ]: Index of rise in Gross Weekly Real Earnings for full-time males 1978 2008 Source: Lansley (2009) Inequality can also be found at a meso-scale, in particular, the increase in the difference between the highest paid and lowest paid workers. Figure 2 shows that the rate of increase at the 90th percentile in the male wage distribution has been far higher than that at the 10th percentile. Although figure 2 does not isolate service wages from other wages, this rising inequality is still significant as services made up almost 90% of the UK economy in 2008 (figure 1). Van Reenen amp; Bell (2010) showed that the increase in the top end of the wage distribution has been mostly in financial services. Much recent media coverage has indeed focussed on high bankers bonuses. The causes of this may be partially explained with by theories which do not fit in the context of globalisation, for example the decline of trade unions being responsible for lowering wages at the bottom of the wage distribution (Van Reenen ;amp; Bell 2010). However, in a globalisation context, offshoring plays a major role. Offshoring, as explained before, moves lower-skilled jobs to least-cost locations. This means that domestic labour supply is now competing with labour supply abroad. If labour can be supplied abroad for cheaper, the domestic price of labour (i. . UK wages) is depressed, thus explaining the low rate at which low-skilled wages are rising in the context of higher-skilled wages. Alternatively, domestic demand for unskilled labour has fallen, resulting in the lowering of unskilled wages (Slaughter ;amp; Swagel 1997) Furthermore, influxes of migrants, particularly from the EU, have contributed to t he impacts on the labour market. Whilst skilled migrants help to tackle the UK skills shortage, unskilled migrants provide excess labour market supply; lowering unskilled wages and raising unemployment figures. An alternative explanation is the migrant division of labour (Wills et al 2010), where foreign-born workers are more likely to take lower-paid jobs in the UK because the wage is still higher than what they might get paid in their home country, so driving down wages of lower-paid jobs in general. At the other end of the scale, the highest-skilled wages are being pushed upwards disproportionately because as global markets become more integrated, the rate of increase in global demand for skilled labour outstrips that of the global supply of skilled labour. Evidence for the concept of demand outstripping supply comes from Richardson (2009, p. 326): †¦ even in times of relatively high unemployment, employers frequently cite skills shortages as one of the business difficulties that they face. In conclusion, explanations of impacts of globalisation on UK services tend to be constituent processes of globalisation which are inextricably linked: the exposure to world markets due to trade liberalisation, offshoring, technology, and migration, but the impacts they cause vary greatly. Explanations may also rely on economic theory, for example, the impacts on the labour market. Exposure to world market forces, such as the current Eurozone crisis, may mean Londons position within the UK is compromised like Newcastles and Edinburghs was. Additionally, as shown by the contrast between supermarkets and tourism in the UK, impacts and their explanations are industry-specific. However, it must be realised that globalisation offers only partial explanation of the impacts discussed.  Politics, economics, sociology as well as wider geography play a fundamental role in particular, UK governments have played a vastly important role in shaping outcomes of globalisation.

Motorcycle and financial services Essay Example for Free

Motorcycle and financial services Essay Abstract The strength of Harley-Davidsons brand and dominant market position give the firm a wide moat, in our opinion. However, weaker consumer spending and tight credit markets are presenting the firm with some significant near-term challenges. In addition, we believe the firm must carefully broaden the appeal of its brand to secure its long-term success. Harley-Davidson is a cult brand that resonates around the world. There are more than 1 million members of the Harley Owners Group, and every year several hundred thousand Harley fans attend biking events at Daytona, Fla. , and Sturgis, S. D. Its no wonder that over 50% of Harleys revenues are generated from repeat sales and these sales are at premium prices to other motorcycle brands. In addition, with almost a 50% share of the U. S. market, Harley also achieves economies of scale greater than most of its competitors. A Harley is not just a bike it is an investment. brand loyalty, its economies of scale, and its network of mostly exclusive dealers have created significant barriers to entry, and as a result, Harley has achieved historical operating margins of over 20% and returns on invested capital of over 40%, excluding the financial services segment. JIT Principles JIT is an operational strategy which helps in making inventory levels lean. An organisation which goes for synchronous manufacturing incorporates JIT to have lower inventory levels. Synchronous manufacturing encompasses techniques of JIT to achieve the target. Organisations which have implemented JIT and are using synchronous manufacturing have a very lean system. It has minimum wastage and the highest possible quality. These organisations are cost effective and generally have higher margins than their competitors. This results in higher level of efficiency in the organisation and a better work environment. BPI helps in management of inventory and related operations. It is very important that organisation understand the importance of new methods and reengineer their processes in line with the requirements. The minimum level of inventory which is required as WIP is determined by the organization and then control efforts are put in so that there is always the minimum level available and it would never cross the maximum level. This is done because one cannot hold high levels of inventory because it comes at a very high cost and is an occupational and can be a operation hazard. The strength of Harley-Davidsons brand and dominant market position give the firm a wide moat, in our opinion. However, weaker consumer spending and tight credit markets are presenting the firm with some significant challenges and we believe the firm must carefully expand the appeal of its brand to secure its long term success. Harley-Davidson is a cult brand that resonates around the world. There are more than 1 million members of the Harley Owners Group, and every year several hundred thousand Harley fans attend biking events at Daytona, Fla. , and Sturgis, S. D. Its no wonder that over 50% of Harleys revenues are generated from repeat sales and these sales are at premium prices to other motorcycle brands. In addition, with almost a 50% share of the U. S. market, Harley also achieves economies of scale greater than most of its competitors. The intensity of the firms brand loyalty, its economies of scale, and its network of mostly exclusive dealers have created significant barriers to entry, and as a result, Harley has achieved historical operating margins of over 20% and returns on invested capital of over 40%, excluding the financial services segment. Despite its strong brand, sagging consumer spending on high-ticket items is likely to continue to depress volumes in the near term, and we expect the economic downturn to prolong the period of failing sales through 2010/11. The firm has already cut production in an attempt to trim costs in line with faling demand. in addition, just over half of Harleys motorcycle revenues are derived from retail sales made on credit. We think that the lack of available funds on the wholesale markets and the shrinking of the number of qualifying customers will make it difficult for the companys financial services division to continue to support retail sales by providing credit to customers. Harley must address some long-term challenges. The firm has been focused on a narrow demographic group (around 89% of customers are male) and the median age of Harleys customers has been on a long-term upward trend. We believe that the firm must find ways to broaden the appeal of its brand without alienating its core customer base. Harley has grown in recent years in the international market , and revenues generated abroad have risen to 25% of total revenues in 2007 from 19% in 2004. Although the firm has recently introduced a performance motorcycle for the European market, I think that it may find it difficult to deliver customized products for overseas markets while supporting its brand franchise. Risk Harleys revenues could be severely hurt by a further weakening of the global economy and increased reductions in consumer spending on high-ticket discretionary items, and the firm may not be able to securitize its receivables if the asset-backed security market is slow to recover. Harleys sales are focused on a thin demographic segment: 35- to 54-year-old males. In our opinion, the firm must broaden its appeal in order to secure its long-term profitability, but any missteps in marketing its products to other demographic segments could damage the brand. Harley-Davidsons brand resonates around the world, and it has particular strength in its key target market of 35- to 54-year-olds. Â  Historically, Harley has generated free cash flow at around 15% of revenues, allowing the firm to develop a strong track record of returning cash to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases. Â  Through the downturn, Harleys management has been careful to maintain spending on research and development and marketing, important steps in maintaining the strength of the brand, in our opinion. The firm has worked successfully with its network of dealers to significantly reduce dealer inventory over the last 12 months. Â  Harleys core demographic, the baby boomer generation, is aging, and thats likely to reduce demand for Harleys products in the future. In order to mitigate the negative impact on revenues, the firm must improve its penetration in other segments. * Harley is likely to continue to face some severe short-term head winds, with anemic consumer spending likely to hurt revenues through 2010. The large inventory of used Harley motorcycles is likely to contribute to Harleys near-term challenges, as a greater number of under-pressure consumers may opt for a cheaper used model in the secondary market. Â  The turmoil in the credit markets is likely to raise the cost of the short-term capital required to fund HDFS. Â  Despite raising the retail rate on its loans, I expect the operating margins of HDFS to come under severe pressure through 2009. HDFS may also find it difficult to raise financing for retail credit in the wholesale markets. This could restrict the number of loans the firm can make to customers and thwart the firms attempts to support retail sales volumes. Inventory Management in Harley Davidson Growth: Historically, the strong spending power of the baby boomers, Harleys core demographic, has been favourable for the motorbike manufacturer. As the baby boomers age, however, I expect slowing domestic revenue growth to be only partially mitigated by international expansion. Profile: Harley-Davidson is the worlds leading manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles, parts, and accessories. It sells the Softail, Sportster, Dyna, Touring, and VRSC models under the Harley-Davidson name, and it also manufactures the Buell brand. Harley-Davidson Financial Services provides wholesale financing to dealers and retail financing and insurance brokerage services to customers. Strategy: Harley leverages its strong brand to sell a broad range of motorcycling-related products. The firm is attempting to broaden its appeal to more demographic groups by expanding its product line-up. It is also focused on international expansion, and it has introduced a new performance-based bike in an attempt to increase its share in overseas markets. Management: I think the quality of corporate governance at Harley-Davidson is above average. I applaud the firm for splitting the chairman and CEO roles between two individuals, although I am concerned that the relationship between the two individuals serving in these roles may weaken the chairmans ability to provide independent oversight. CEO James Ziemers career at Harley blossomed under the leadership of former CEO and current Chairman Jeffrey L. Bluestein. In addition, although nine of the firms 12 directors meet the NYSE definition of independent, a total of six of them have served on the board for over a decade, and I believe that their long-term relationships with management, together with some related-party transactions, may further compromise their independence. Having said that, the Harley-Davidson board does contain a solid range of legal, accounting, and executive experience. Management compensation is skewed to long-term incentive components, and I think that this aligns the interests of the management team with those of shareholders. The firm has a strong track record of returning cash to shareholders, both through dividend disbursements and share buyback programs. Harley Reports Lower 3Q Earnings I am leaving our fair value estimate for Harley-Davidson in place following the release of third-quarter earnings, which were in line with our expectations. Revenue fell 8% year over year, to $1. 42 billion, as the economic downturn hurt retail sales volume, which declined 14%. The bright spot was international sales, but only a small part of the 11. 3% rise in international revenues was attributable to volume increases; most of the increase was caused by favourable currency movements. At Harley-Davidson Financial Services, the customer finance division, third-quarter earnings fell 28% from the same period last year, to $35. 6 million, because of lower securitization income and the write-down of some finance receivables held for sale. I was pleased to note that the firm is being proactive in securing alternative sources of funding for the finance division, in the event that it cannot raise funds in the unsecured debt market. However, we expect that Harleys funding requirements would be met comfortably by its bank credit facility, if required. Supply side Economic Scenario Given the continued macroeconomic deterioration and tightness in credit markets, I am raising our fair value uncertainty rating for Harley-Davidson. The companys growth has decelerated during the last three years, and year-over-year shipments were down 15% last quarter. In addition, we see significant downside risks to the contribution from Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Last quarter, financial services income was down 43% because of a $20 million reduction in securitization gains. Financial income was also affected by a $6 million write-down in retained securitization interests. Since that time credit markets have seized up, and its likely the firm will report increasing charge-offs on consumer loans in the coming quarters. Summary Business process reengineering is very critical for companies and industries which survive on innovation. Sometimes there are cases when old processes in the company are dying and their is a pressing need to rejuvenate then. This process of is known as business process reengineering. A company that does not innovate dies out in the market. Old operations over time die down and new process needs to be rebuilt into the system. This is where the concept of business processes engineering is very critical. The objective of the paper is to critically evaluate symptoms which suggests organisation to go for business process reengineering then come up with one of those symptoms and write a detailed analysis of it. References: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. / Gao, F, Li, M. Clarke, S. (2008). Knowledge, management, and knowledge management in business operations. Nonaka, I. (2005). Knowledge Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management. Taylor Francis. Tait, A Richardson, K. A. (2010). Complexity and Knowledge Management Understanding the Role of Knowledge in the Management of Social Networks. IAP Goldman, A. (n. d. ). Eliminating Bottlenecks. Retrieved 28th March, 2011, from http://www. gaebler. com (n. d. ). Retrieved Mar 27th, 2011, from Customer Relationship MAnagement: http://www. customerthink.com (n. d. ). Retrieved Mar 27th, 2011, from More is not value Proposition: http://sinekpartners. typepad. com Auction site. (n. d. ). Retrieved MAr 27th, 2011, from Harley Davidson Value: http://harleyauctionsite. com Harley Davidson USA. (2011, MAr 27). Retrieved Mar 17, 2011, from Harley Davidson: http://www. harley-davidson. com Impact Factory. (2010, Feb 2nd). Retrieved mar 27th, 2011, from http://www. impactfactory. com http://www. h-dsn. com/genbus/links. jsp Management Research Review. (2000) Johan Van Nimwegen, Brian H. Kleiner, Volume 23 issue 7/8.

Case Study of Pearson Publisher

Case Study of Pearson Publisher This assessment will address the following three question through a successful case study of Pearson publisher: The scope of the three variation models Criticize two kinds of change management theories Use the two change management tools to recommend a change plan In the human history,it has organized activitues,had the management activities.Management activities of people experience summarized,formed a series of management thought.Management scholars both at home and abroad is summarized the management theory out,reform and innovation of management is particularly important.The management change,just as its name implies is organization according to the change of enviroment inside and outside,timely in the organization and the relationship between elements of adjustment,to adapt to the requirements of the development of the organizations future.Management of innvation,innovation means to break the old order,break the balance of the original,seek s more suitable for the survival and development of organizations environment. The core of enterprise change is management change, and the success of change management comes from change management. The success rate of change is not one hundred percent, or even lower, often makes a change is dead, the same is dead, the tool. But the pressure of market competition, the frequent updates of technology and the need for their own growth, change may fail, but certainly failed. So it is more important to know how to change than to know why change and change. After all, not for the management and management of enterprises, any change management companies must have sufficient internal data and facts, get rid of these facts and data, the management is aware of the possibility of small. Companies often use questionnaires and face to face communication, collect documents, notes, conferences, seminars, etc., to understand the situation. Organizational change refers to the use of behavioral science and related management methods, the organization of the rights structure, organization size, communication channels, role setting, organization and other organizations, as well as the organization members of the concept, attitude and behavior, members of the The spirit of cooperation between the purpose of the purpose of the system to adjust and innovate to adapt to the organizations internal and external environment, technical characteristics and organizational tasks and other aspects of change, improve organizational effectiveness. The development of enterprises can not be separated from the organizational changes, changes in internal and external environment, the continuous integration of enterprise resources and changes, gave the enterprise has brought opportunities and challenges, which requires enterprises to focus on organizational change. The meaning of change management: change management that is when the organization grows slowly, internal problems arise, the more unable to cope with the changes in the business environment, companies must make organizational change strategy, the internal level, work processes and corporate culture, the necessary adjustments and Improve management, in order to achieve a smooth business transformation. In this era of knowledge economy and information technology is booming, organizational change has become a major symbol of the development of contemporary enterprises. Organizational change in a series of changes such as organizational structure, organizational business process system reengineering, modern information system into the middle of the organizational system, to the enterprise has brought unprecedented changes to the staff relationship management has also brought great changes , While employee relationship management also further promotes the development of organizational changeOrganizational change and employee relationship management only with each other, mutual coordination and promotion in order to enable enterprises to adapt to the trend of modern development, but also to the enterprise a great opportunity. This paper starts from the trend of organizational change in the era of information age and knowledge economy, analyzes the pattern and characteristics of organiza tional change, and further finds out the model and the countermeasures to be used in the management of employee relations under the environment of organizational change environment, so as to improve enterprise performance and promote The purpose of enterprise development. Enterprise organization is an open system that continually interacts with the environment in which it is outside. The external and changing environment and the increasingly fierce market competition and the inherent development of the enterprise organization are also transformed into great pressure on the organization. Enterprises to carry out a broader organizational change, and the success or failure of change is the most critical or human factors. Organizational staff can promote organizational change smoothly, but also can hinder or undermine the effectiveness of organizational change, and therefore employee relationship management in organizational change is a very important issue. The different organizational transformation models carried out by enterprises, the organizational form after organizational change, and the development trend of new organizational changes have different effects on employee relationship management. First, the organizers of corporate behavior are responsible for all change activities; secondly, regardless of whether a team is a formal department or a temporary project team, the leaderships leadership exists in different forms in the organization; and third, the leader has So that all members contribute their own strength, towards the enterprise development goals of the leadership of the charm and influence. The success of strategic change is related to internal resources and external resources. Employees use these resources to absorb knowledge and improve their skills, making organizational change easier to accept, participate, and even seek opportunities to make changes. But 70% of organizational changes ended in failure. In order to seek more effective means of organizational change, companies and employees need to change the leadership, these leaders will affect every stage of change, to promote the smooth progress of the process of change. Middlehurst thinks that the behavior of the leader is self-contained, which mainly includes the following three characteristics: first, the organizer of corporate behavior, responsible for all the change activities; second, whether a team is a formal department or temporary project team, the leader Leadership is in different forms exist in the organization; Third, the leader has to make all members of their own strength, towards the enterprise development goals of the leadership of the charm and influence. Excellent change leader characteristics:Changing the personal qualities of leaders is the key to the success of change, and a good change leader usually has the following characteristics: First, the ability to identify organizational change needs. This is the basis for the cause of change, the leadership must understand the corporate culture, recognize the gap between reality and ideals; second, management tools. Change the leadership to find the problem to explore the means to solve the problem, organize employees, to stimulate potential, encourage them to build confidence, work together to achieve the goal; third, the ability to deal with emergencies. When an emergency occurs, they can make the right decision as soon as possible to reduce the loss of the business; fourthly, the higher EQ. Change the leader to have self-confidence, doing things without fear, perseverance, good self-regulation and ability to adapt; Fifth, the change of leadership must be honest and simple, so that th e line of travel, will be fruit, to get the staff Support and recognition, so that change smoothly. Organizational change is bound to involve the interests of the relevant subject, will inevitably defame and suppress the work of change, and even some of the leadership of enterprises fear the risk of change. This requires backing with the support of the companys leading leadership, organizing a group of courageous people to carry out change work. Organizational change in the course of the process will certainly bring some negative impact, the negative impact of change is the status of the organization is not sensitive or not actively take the initiative to pay the price of the amendment, but the change in the long term, Is conducive to the healthy development of long-term business. Corporate culture is not built out, he is the most simple business philosophy with a healthy organizational business model in the process of enterprise development gradually formed. Business philosophy is the enterprise nature of things, is always abide by the faith, is the process of development of the Polaris; corporate culture is changing with the various changes in the concept of common understanding, is the success of the enterprise to the other side of the pilot. Work Cited http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_69d1f3840100mywq.html http://www.lunwendata.com/thesis/2013/24115.html http://so.qianluntianxia.com/article/2004/CMFD-2004098304.html

Alexander the Great :: essays research papers fc

Alexander the Great Introduction Alexander III was born on July 20th, 356 BC to King Philip II and Olympia’s. He was born in Pella, Macedonia. In 343 BC Aristotle was hired to educate Alexander at the age of 13. In 338 he commanded for the first time the Calvary during the battle of Chaeronea. Alexander ascends the throne of Macedonia in 336 BC after the murder of his father, King Philip II. 336-323 BC is when he started his empire, conquering kingdom after kingdom. Why was Alexander the Great? Alexander III was known as Alexander the Great to his people from 336-323 BC. Why to this day do we still look at Alexander the Great as one of the greatest rulers of the world? Even though Alexander ruled for only 13 years as king of Macedonian what made him gain the title as Alexander the Great? Should he be known for it because of his military skills, his popularity with his people or his leadership skills? Why did Alexander deserve to be called â€Å"the Great†? He was not the first of his time to be called it. There were two others before him that were called the Great, the Persian King Cyrus the Great and the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses the Great. To this day his leadership skills are still considered by military experts as being the most outstanding commanders of all time. Alexander was able to motivate and inspire his troops to fight any battle for him by leading his troops, talked to every single troop and received the same wounds that they did. One thing that can only be marveled at is the over whelming factor, his charisma. He was the only individual that was able to hold together an empire together. After his death the empire fell apart into competing kingdoms. Alexander III is known to have helped shaped the world the way we know it today. Persians, Egyptians, Babylonians were eastern cultures that dominated the world until Alexander came into rule. He changed the focus on civilization from the eastern to the western societies, Greece and Rome. Alexander took the gold reserves of the Persian Kings and minted it into currency, using his resources to build new cities while continuing his conquest of other kingdoms. This enabled the Greek civilization to spread through out the known world and improving trade relations and activities. Alexander established an economic system that remained active until the industrial revolution in the 18th century.

Politics of Piety by Saba Mahmood Essay examples -- islamic women, gend

The book I chose to read for the final paper was Politics of Piety by Saba Mahmood. This book although interesting was very difficult to follow. Mahmood basically broke the book into two parts. The first part goes into detail of the Islamic women’s mosque movement in Egypt. Mahmood explains her 2 years of â€Å"field work† experience and also critically analyzes Islam women in the Islamic culture after 9/11.The second part of the book focuses on the ethics, autonomy, and piety of the women in this culture. Throughout the entire book Mahmood references Foucault which I found really interesting showing his influence and ideals from his own research. The main idea I think Mahmood is trying to get across is stated in the epilogue of Politics of Piety: â€Å"†¦This attempt at comprehension offers the slim hope in this embattled and imperious climate, one in which feminist politics runs the danger of being reduced to a rhetorical display of the placard of Islam’s abuses, that analysis as a mode of conversation, rather than mastery, can yield a vision of coexistence that does not require making others life worlds extinct or provisional.† (Mahmood, 2005, p.199) In retrospect I found that Politics of Piety relates to the concepts of gender and the law, legal pluralism, and finally autonomy and self-determination that we learned throughout the semester. Gender and law are a big part of Politics and Piety. The women’s supposed role to gain any autonomy in this movement need to be subordinate to their female virtues in order for them to gain a more public role in their political and religious life. (Mahmood, 2005, p.6).My impression of this movement is that women involved in Islamic politics and religion are still governed by a patriarchal authority. A... ... influence the laws that are made in regard with these concepts in mind. Gender and law is the whole mosque movement and how Islamic women today are slowly changing and gaining some power. Legal pluralism is all the systems in place and their influence of the Islamic women. Autonomy and Self- Determination is the rights, choices, and freedoms these women are gaining through this movement and the changes after 9/11. Works Cited Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison (2nd Vintage Books ed.). New York: Vintage Books. Mahmood, S. (2005). Politics of piety: the Islamic revival and the feminist subject. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Merry, S. E. (1988). Legal Pluralism. Law & Society Review, 869-896. Steinbrich, S. (1990). The Social and Legal Position of Lyela Women (Burkina Fas). Journal of Legal Pluralism, 30-31, 869-894.

Sanity and Insanity in Faulkners The Sound and the Fury :: Faulkner Sound and the Fury Essays

Sanity and Insanity in Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury Quentin Compson, the oldest son of the Compson family in William Faulkner's novel, The Sound and the Fury, personifies all the key elements of insanity. Taking place in the imaginary town of Jefferson, Mississippi, the once high class and wealthy Compson family is beginning their downfall. Employing a stream of consciousness technique narrated from four points of view, Benjy, the "idiot child," Jason the cruel liar, cheat, and misogynist, Quentin the introvert, and the author narrating as a detached observer, Faulkner creates the situation of a completely dysfunctional family. Faulkner shows that failure to cope with the natural changes in the passage of time will drive one out of his mind. Despite what many critics believe, Quentin is indeed insane, as well as every other member of the Compson family, with the exception of Benjy. Quentin is seriously mentally ill and does many stupid things to lead up to "serious harm," his suicide. His inability to live normally in society results in the drowning of himself. Quentin is an anachronism; he is out of his time and place. His passion in upholding the purity of womanhood is ironic in his questionable incest with his sister. Incest, notwithstanding, simply trying to make his father believe that such actions did occur is pure madness. Quentin is disgusted with life and feels that nothing can help anyone. He says, "It's not when you realise [sic] that nothing can help you- religion, pride, anything- It's when you realise [sic] that you don't need any aid" (80). When Quentin uses the word aid, he is referring to the daily things in life that help make life bearable. Things like: friends, family, compliments, and self-esteem. These are all types of aid. To think that no one needs any of these things to deal with the hardships in life is senseless. Certainly one must be lunatic to believe that nothing can help someone, that life is simply a free for all. As a Harvard student, Quentin should at least have some pride in his accomplishments. Certainly it was no accident for Faulkner to choose a suicidal man as the most psychopathic character for his novel.

Neoclassicism vs Romanticism

Neoclassicism & Romanticism (17809181 Neoclassicism, sass: Neoclassical pieces generally portrayed Roman history; they elevated Roman heroes. During the sass was an Age of Reason and through its history paintings, its works were modes for conveying the Enlightenment ideals. Many of the pieces, like the Oath of the Horntail, are reactions to the revolutions of their time. This piece is a call to arms, which shows that man is great and can be in control.Pieces during the Neoclassical time show a heightened contemplative moment like the one in this piece. Characteristics: -brought back and depicted Roman history formal composition -the use of diagonals shows the apex of emotion/moment (versus a regular moment) – local color -overall lighting -classic ego-structure -completed canvas Romanticism, sass-sass: Unlike Neoclassicism, Romanticism was during the Age of Passion; there was no time for contemplation, so pieces generally showed emotional extremes.Romanticism is a reaction to the classical, contemplative nature of Neoclassical pieces. Romanticism celebrated the elemental forces of nature, depicting nature as out of control. When the uncontrollable nature is compared to life, it makes people think life should be uncontrollable; life should be continuously on the edge. Shows the height of action -emotional extremes -celebrated nature as out of control -dramatic compositions -heightened sensation (life and death moments) Works: Neoclassicism in France: Ad ©l ¤did Labile-Guard, Self-portrait with Two Pupils, 1785 Jacques Louis-David, Oath of the Horntail, 1784-1785 Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to her Children as Her Treasures, 1785 Romanticism: Antoine-Jean Gross, Napoleon in the Plague House at Gaff, 1804 Jean-Augusta Dominique Ingress, Large Odalisque, 1814 Ad ©l ¤did Labile-Guard, Self-portrait with Two Pupils, 1785, Oil on Canvas pastel colors, delicately curving forms, dainty figures and a light-hearted mood – French portrait pai nting before the French Revolution of 1789, like this piece, may be characterized as a modified form of Rococo; elegant informality continued to be featured, but new themes were introduced, figures tended to be larger and more robust and compositional arrangements were more stable -Labile-Guard was elected to one of the four places in the French Academy available to women and later successfully petitioned to end the restriction on women -this work is often seen as a orphanage piece that argues for the place of women in the Academy -the monumental image of the artist at her easel was meant to eradicate any rumors that men painted her works and the works of other female artists; for example, in a role reversal, the only male in her work is her muse – her father, whose bust is behind her -the self-portrait flatters the painter's conventional feminine charms in a manner generally consistent with the Rococo tradition; she has a more monumental female type, in keeping with her conc eption of women as important contributors to national fife, which is an Enlightenment aspiration; the triangular arrangement of the figures adds to this effect -the work also shows a rich palette and fine detail -the artist's fashionable dress asserts her femininity; the presence of her pupils and the statue of the Vestal Virgin in the background emphasize the feminist mood (and show that women can and should be teachers) – in ancient Rome, the Vestal virgins were the holy priestesses of Vests, the goddess of the hearth; their primary task was to maintain the sacred fire of Vests – the Vestal duty brought great honor and afforded greater privileges to women who served in that role Jacques Louis-David, Oath of the Horntail, 1784-1785, Oil on Canvas -royal commission -reflects the taste and values of Louis XVI who was sympathetic to the Enlightenment -following Doter's lead, the king believed art should improve public morals -the painting was inspired by the seventeenth century drama Horace – Roman history = Rome v.Alba (sons of Horace fight for Rome) -in the painting, the Horntail (three sons of Horace) are shown with their father, pledging an oath to the State -in contrast to the upright muscular angularity of the men is a group of limp weeping women and righted children – sad due to probability of death, but also because of the women's involvement with the enemy (through marriage, etc) women = weak -the composition effectively contrasts the men's stoic willingness to sacrifice themselves for the State with the women's emotional commitment to family ties -composition is a classical pyramid (geometric/structural – divided into three compartments) -David wants the revolution – call to arms -painting extols antique virtues of stoicism -vanishing point at the sword – symbolic -goes back to Roman history with morality tales everything adds up to the â€Å"thesis† – standing up for your beliefs (moral co urage) – women = the counterargument; looking for a Just government -during the Age of Reason, the world could be known through study and a painter could paint a rational painting that could change the world -areas of local color draw the viewer across the canvas Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to her Children as Her Treasures, 1785, Oil on Canvas -for an English patron -Neoclassical history painting, subjects drawn from classical antiquity (Age of Reason, contemplation) -the story takes place in the second century BCC, during theRepublican era of Rome (Roman history) -a woman visitor has been showing Cornelia her Jewels and then requests to see those of her hostess; Cornelia turns to her sons and says that these are her most precious Jewels -Cornelia exemplifies the â€Å"good mother† (popular subject in late eighteenth century) -in the reforming spirit of the Enlightenment – depicted subjects that would teach lessons in virtue (didactic paintings) -the v alue of Carnelian's maternal education is emphasized by the fact that under her loving care the sons grew up to be political reformers -setting = simple like the message), but the effect of the whole is softened by the warm, subdued lighting and by the tranquil grace of the leading characters Antoine-Jean Gross, Napoleon in the Plague House at Gaff, 1804, Oil on Canvas – chronicled Napoleon's military campaigns -added Romantic elements: dramatic lighting, emotionally stimulating elements, main action is meant to incite veneration, not republican virtue – at the center of a small group of soldiers and a doctor, Napoleon calmly reaches toward the sores of one of the victims, the image of a Christ-like figure healing the sick with his touch, unconsciously intended to promote him as semi-divine (Gross paints the gore = Romantic) -idealized account of an actual incident: During Napoleon's campaign against the Turks in 1799, bubonic plague broke out among his troops.Napoleon decided to quiet the fears of the healthy by visiting the sick and dying, who were housed in a converted mosque -shallow stage and a series of arcades behind the main actors are inspired by Davit's Oath of the Horntail Jean-Augusta Dominique Ingress, Large Odalisque, 1814, Oil on Canvas -odalisque: a female slave or concubine in a sultan's harem (sexual fantasy – repressed) -body urine away from the master's gaze makes her erotic and aloof -the cool blues of the couch and the curtain at the right heighten the effect of the woman's warm skin, while the tight angularity of the crumpled sheets accentuates the languid, sensual contours of her form -fluid line/elegant postures = Neoclassical -Romantic themes = odalisque in a highly personal fashion, her body is not anatomically correct, but is aesthetically pleasing -fascination with the exotic – exploration – French discover exotic near East during Napoleon's campaigns – commissioned by the Queen of Naples - concerned with the line, not remaining true to form