Marketing management in pratice Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing management in pratice - Article Example Perfumes are a multibillion industry with many big and small players vying for the market space. Fragrance forms the critical component of perfumes. According to Williams and Curtis (2006) researchers have established a variety of roles for marketing people, which includes; As such there are other cosmetic items which have fragrance, but these items are supposed to cater to some other needs as well. Cosmetics have been around for many thousand years now. Use of cosmetics can be traced back to earlier times when people used to paint their body for religious ceremonies, war, and mating rituals (Kumar et al, 2006). Range of items like powders, soap, shampoo, toothpaste etc. also form part of the cosmetics industry, but the first thought that comes to mind on hearing the term 'cosmetics' is makeup and perfumes, especially for women. Though perfume as such doesn't come in the category of items required for living, but over the years it has certainly acquired a status of an item required to make a 'decent living'. It is this aspect that is required to be explored optimally, using marketing communication techniques. Traditional marketing mix concept, first proposed by McCarthy in 1960, consists of Product, Price, Place and Promotion (better known as the 4Ps). Each particular marketing mix adds up to a certain amount of effort the company is making for the purpose of generating sales. Any plan to develop a competitive advantage must be based on a sound analysis of the company's competitors. Communication forms a crucial part of managerial activities. Marketing communication in turn helps a company in building a brand, creating brand loyalties, increase in sales, cutting costs, etc. North American market is a very diverse market in general which caters to customers/ consumers from different walks of life, different cultures, ethnic groups and age groups. There is lot of diversity in the perfume market itself. With so many varieties of perfumes available in the market it'll require a committed and consistent effort on the part of Picasso perfume to attract the customers. One of the biggest markets for perfume is the youth segment and Thomas (2007) finds out that this segment is not very loyal to the brand, what they ask for is the fragrance. Studies (Datamonitor, 2007) have suggested that blended fragrance is the most preferred fragrances followed by musk, sandalwood and others. Therefore, Picasso will have to take note of the customer's preferences to establish itself as a quality product in the market. Thomas (2007) further adds that the celebrity endorsement of some particular brand also helps in attracting the youth segment towards the brand. Perfume companies have been extensively

Sampling and data coolection Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Sampling and data coolection - Research Proposal Example Both of the said processes have direct influences on the outcome of the research. Furthermore, data collection and sampling are both concerned with the elements to be studied, the population, and what data will be gathered from them. As such, their role in market research is very significant. Careful thought and consideration must be given to the choice of data collection method and sampling approach to be used in any research. Since there are several methods and approaches available, the researcher must analyze the scenario to ensure that the right method and approach will be used. Each situation may call for a different data collection method and sampling approach. Such choice relies on several factors. Primarily, the researcher must consider the problem at hand. He must determine whether the problem requires qualitative or quantitative research. This is important because the researcher must determine what type of data is involved or required. Once the type of research has been established, the researcher must then take into consideration other elements such as the population, budget, time allotted, and the number of personnel at hand. Basically, this means that the researcher should study the resources he has at his disposal for all of these are factors that help determine the most appropriate data collection method and sampling approach. This paper will attempt to highlight the process of choosing the appropriate data coll... Are employees being managed to maximize their productivity as well as commitment to the success of the restaurant' What are the best approaches to attract new customers, and to keep and grow existing customers' To arrive at the appropriate choices, the alternatives for both data collection method and sampling approach will be discussed. This discussion will include an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each method and approach as well why it is appropriate or not appropriate for the given situation. In essence, this paper will provide insight as to how to choose the right data collection method and sampling approach. Data Collection Method There are several data collection methods that a researcher may choose to employ. Also, the researcher may choose to combine some of these methods in order to gather the necessary data more effectively. The basic methods that may be used singularly or in combination to achieve specific research objectives are as follows: Internet surveys / Online Data Collection Mail surveys Interviews Real-time tracking Store checks and mystery shops Internet surveys/online data collection Conducting market research online allows the researcher to gather data in a simple, easy, and effective manner. With the internet, one can create interactive electronic surveys for specific markets or groups. Also, one can create surveys that reach wide market bases through the use of the Worldwide Web. Internet surveys are the most cost effective way to gather data internationally. Using various programming techniques, one can easily randomize data gathering. It is most effective in gathering data from a large segment of the population. However, there is a tendency for internet surveys to be non-representative of the entire

Stakeholder Project Organization

Stakeholder Project Organization The Stakeholder would be someone who is concerned, an engaged or interested in a project. Stakeholder is individuals or organizations that have a straight concentration in a service being provided. There are three categories of user primary, secondary and tertiary. Example: Employees, customers, suppliers, Local community. 1.1 .1 PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS: Primary stakeholders are those people and groups ultimately who are affected by the project. That will be differ depends on the types of project concerned and should be analyzed according to criteria such as gender, income levels, dependence on resources, etc. The primary stakeholders are the most important of the organization. People or group who are ultimately impacted either positively (beneficiaries) or negatively (for example, competitors). The users are those likely to be frequent hands on user of the organization. Example Regional Nature Conservation Authority Ministry of Environment, Forestry, Regional Planning, etc Activity:- Landowner and or residents in the forest Forestry companies Tourism operator Recreational and other user 1.1.2 SECONDARY STAKEHOLDER: Secondary stakeholders are the intermediaries in the aid delivery process. The secondary users are occasional user or those who use the system through an intermediary. People or groups who have a role in the decision making process without being directly affected by the outcome. Example Local business Landowner and residents not inside the protected area but near Environment NGOs 1.1.3 TERTIARY STAKEHOLDER: Tertiary users are those affected by the introduction of the system, or who will influence its purchase. Tertiary stake holder can still have an influence, but are not directly involved. Example Local opinion leader Local media Ecological department of universities, research institutes Environmental inserts or special programs of national media 1.2. Scope Document: The scope document is a general term for any document that refines and defined the requirements aspect of the triple constraint of time, cost, and requirements. 1.2.1 Purpose of a scope document: The purpose of this document is to collect, analyze, and define high-level needs and features of that system. It focuses on the capabilities needed by the projects. The scope statement is generally confined to a few paragraphs or pages, the scope document may be a far more substantial document. It captures information from a variety of sources and places it in a single repository. As an alternative, it may largely be a document that provides reference to other documentation in other locations. Specifically identifying those locations and the information embedded in that documentation. 1.2.2 Contents of a scope document: Executive Summary: It contains the overall information about the project in a short summary documentation. Description of the Proposed Action The various types of action and processes will be taken to accomplish the project. The description of all those action and processes is documented here. Project Purpose, Need and Benefits Background and History of project Cornell and Public Need for the Proposed Action Objectives of the project Benefits that will be gain to meet the objective. Neighborhoods Consideration about the business competitors, about their activity. Project Deliverables Description of all deliverables that will establish the successful completion of the project Project Boundaries The project development area is defined here with specifications. Resource needs The resource that will be needed to complete the project successfully, all are documented here. Cost Contain specific plan about the cost estimates to prevent misunderstanding later. Payment plan Define when and how project development team should be paid for the project Task-2 Introduction: There are some visual forms to help us our project. There are different stages in the development of the project and that stage can focused to use some visual form. While planning to develop a project many factors and issues should be considered before getting into the project and what are more stages in the total life cycle is vital for the successful implementation of the project and that stages are focused by the visual form. You can focus of all your project stage by using visual form. 2.1 Life Cycle Model:- The term project lifecycle models how a project is planned controlled and monitored from its inception to its completion. Project life cycle model are not similar. To deliver a quality system, its critical to know the risk facing your project and to use models that reduce those risks. Life cycle models describe the phase of the projects and the order in which those phase are executed. Each phase produce deliverables required by the next stage in the life cycle. There are some life cycle models is Waterfall Model, V-shape model, Spiral model and etc. 2.1.1 Waterfall Life Cycle Model: The waterfall life cycle was the first attempt at the definition of software development life cycle. The concept of a waterfall in this model suggests that one stage is completed before the next one starts and the diagram exactly show that concept. Stage completion is judged by the outcome of the stage matching the requirements defined by the previous stage. Requirements Analysis Diagram: Waterfall Model Requirements Specification System Design Code Test Implement Maintenance The water model is very simple diagram. The model is showing some lifecycle activities. The waterfall model is very simple to use and easy to manage due to the inflexibility of the model because each stage has specified deliverables and a review processes. Those stages are completed one at a time. That is best for small project where requirement are much understood. 2.1.2 V Model: The life cycle models heart of the v-Model. It describes the activity and products in the V-Model. Just like the waterfall model, the v-shaped life cycle is a sequential path execution of processor. Each stage must be completed before the next stage begins. Testing is emphasized in this model more so than the waterfall model though. The testing procedures are developed early in the life cycle before any coding is done, during each of the phase preceding implementation. Maintenance Initial Concept Requirements definition Software Design Detailed Design Code Unit Test Acceptance Test Integration and Test Tested Software Tested System Test Modules Diagram: The V Model The sequential lifecycle diagram is easy to understand, it easy to focus what the plan a project according to a sequential approach. The V-Model maintains the change control board and they meets once a year and processes all received change request on the V-Model. That supports tailoring, at each project starts, the V-Model is tailoring into a specific project. The tailoring makes it possible because the V-Model is organization and project independent. The V-Model produces actual support on how to implement an activity. In each activity scheme there are instructions, recommendation and detailed explanation of the activ 2.2. The Activity Networks: The activity network is a technique for pictorial representing a project plan. It shows dependencies between all the activities that have to be created. The most important part of activity diagram is the Critical path. Activity networks find out the all activity and find out who activity dependence to others. And the process of creating network begins with the drawings up of dependency list. The processes assign independence to each product or activity and specifies it backwards dependency. EST Duration EFT Activity Description LST Float LFT 8 5 13 E 19 11 24 22 2 24 I 22 0 24 24 4 28 J 24 0 28 28 28 3 5 8 C 14 11 19 3 6 9 G 18 15 24 9 13 22 H 9 0 22 13 7 20 F 15 2 22 9 4 13 D 11 2 13 0 3 3 A 0 0 3 3 6 9 B 3 0 9 0 0 Diagram: Activity Networks The activity networks show the activity by a box with sections used to hold key pieces of information. The show the activity starts time, finished time and there duration. They show last start time, finished time and there float. For example the boxes (nodes) A, B, C, D, E, etc represent the activities and the arrows, or connectors, represent the dependencies between the activities. And provide the information of which are activities are much more critical. The diagram contains the some visual information are: Earliest Start and Finished Time Latest Start and Finished Time The Critical Path Dependency Type 2.2.1 Earliest Start and Finished Time:- Earliest Start Time (EST): The earliest points are shown when the activities are started. The next activities (box) earliest start time (EST) dependence on previous finished time (EFT). Earliest Finished Time (EFT): the earliest point are illustrate the activities finished time. The EFT depends on what the activities duration. The activities duration calculate (EFT = EST + Duration) the EST and produce the Earliest Finished Time (EFT). 2.2.2 Duration: The diagram is show the activities duration. That is easy to find out which activities times are defined. The important point about this is that it is not until the activity network has been completed, and the dependencies combined with the estimated elapsed durations, that the project manager can be confident about the predicted elapsed duration and whether a specific end date is achievable or not. 2.2.3 Latest Start Time and Finished:- Latest Start Time (LST): They LST provide the information of the latest time that the activity in question can begin, without causing subsequent jobs to overrun. Latest Finished Time (LFT): The latest time that the activity in question can finish, without causing subsequent jobs to overrun. Float: The earliest points are show the time of who much needs to time the activity are finished. They use to some mechanism to provide the information. Working backward through the network, the mechanism is: LFT of an activity = LST of succeeding activity. LST of an activity = LFT Duration. 2.2.4 Critical Path:- The diagram (visual form) is very attractive you can easily find out which activities are critical. If any activity has no Float, as in the case you can understand that the activities are more critical and this called the Critical Path. That helps to the project. These activities are high risk, so The superlative people can put on them They can easily monitored frequently of the activity The estimating can be re-examined for their liability to any risk of overrunning. 2.2.5 Dependency Type: The visual form can easily help us to find out the dependency of our project activities. That can show to which activities are depending to other. â€Å"We have assumed that an activity cannot start until the previous one has finished. This is not always the case. Sometimes activities can overlap, for example, where one activity is design programs and the successor is code programs these can go almost on parallel but there must be delay before the start of the letter activity.† 2.3. Mind Maps:- â€Å"Mind Map is diagram used to represent an expression of radiant thinking and is therefore a natural function of human mind†. This visual form is very interesting that can generate an imaging idea of any projects. Mind Mapping is useful technique that improves the way you take notes, and support and enhances your creative problem solving. By using Mind Maps, you can quickly identify and structure of a subjects and the way that pieces of information fit together, as well as recording the row facts contained in normal notes. Mind maps are tools which help you think and learn. FIG: Mind Map 2.3.1 Key Ideas in a project: That is applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance. The mind map has some essential characteristic: The subject of attention is crystallized in a central image The man themes of the subject radiate from the central image of branches Branches hold a key image/word printed on the associated line details radiate out The branches from a connected model structure Mind Maps are more compact than conventional note, often taking up one side of paper. This helps you to make associations easily. And if you find out more information after you have drawn the main Mind Map. Then you can easily add it in. Mind Map is also easily useful for: Can summarized information That can easily Consolidating information from different research sources Its help to thinking through complex problems and Presenting your information in a design that shows the overall structure of your subject Task-3 3.1. TUCKMAN Theory: Bruce tuckman has provided the theory to develop a successful project team. There have five stage of group development. His research led him to determine four phase of group development those are- Forming Storming Norming Performing And the last stage is Adjourning. Forming: personal relations are characterized by dependence in this stage. Storming: in this stage, the characterized by achievement and argument in the personal relations dimensions an organization in the task-functions dimension. Norming: in the stage, the interpersonal relations are characterized by cohesion. Performing: This stage are not reached by all groups, if group members are grow to stage four, their ability, variety, and depth of personal relation are expand to true interdependence. Adjourning: That stage involves the execution of task behaviors and disengagement from relationship. 3.2. BELBIN Theory: Dr Meredith Belbin defined a team role as: â€Å"A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way†. Belbin identified nine cluster of behaviors team, terms team role. Those are- Co-ordinator: the co-ordinator may not stand out in a team and usually does not have a sharp intellect. Shaper: He or She will challenge, argue or disagree and will display aggression in the pursuit of goal achievement. Two or three shaper in a group, according to Belbin, can lead to conflict, aggravation and in-fighting. Plant: Weaknesses are a tendency to disregard practical details and argumentativeness. Resources Investigator: Weakness are a tendency to lose interest after initial fascination with an idea, and they are not usually the source of original ideas. Company worker/implementation: Implementers are conservative, inflexible and slow to respond to new possibilities. Monitor evaluator: Weakness are that they appear dry and boring or even over-critical. They are not good at inspiring others. Those in high level appointments are often monitor evaluators. Team worker: They tend to be indecisive in moments of crisis reluctant to do things that might hurt others. Completer finishers: Weaknesses according to Belbin, are that they tend to be over anxious and have difficulty letting go and delegating work. Specialist: their weaknesses are single-mindedness and a lack of interest in other peoples. 3.3. MYERS_BRIGGS theory: The Myers-Briggs personality typology, unlike some other typing theories such as the Enneagram or Four Temperaments, uses a combination of several aspects to arrive at a â€Å"composite† type, based on the interaction and relative weight of different behavioural and attitudinal factors. The types are expressed as combinations of four letters, as follows: E or I (Extravert or Introvert) S or N (Sensing or iNtuitive) T or F (Thinking or Filling) J or P (Judging or Perceiving) E/I preference: interest the world around you. S/N preference: how you gather the information about the world. T/F preference: how you evaluate that information. J/P preference: your attitude to the world. These four pairs give 16 possible combinations, some of which are more common I the population than others. I will use myself as the worked example in what follows as I am the nearest subject to hand. 3.4. Knowledge from Tuckman, Belbin, and Myers-Briggs theory to develop a project team 3.4.1 Tuckman theory: Tuckman theories originally give me the knowledge of groups. How the way to observed group evolve, whether they were conscious of it or not. And I understand how to move the performed in the stage. The forming stage is describing the characters of each group members. And next stage they are comments to each other. Group might be happily Norming and performing stage because they are understood to each other. 3.4.2 Belbin theory: I collect the some information of Belbin theories. That is each team role has its particular strength and allow able weaknesses, and each has an essential contribute to make to a team. Every member needs different time to her/his roles. 3.4.3 Myers-Briggs: That theory simple to helps an aide-memoire for people who have done the profile, and give a flavor of how it works if its new to you. The theory helps to how we deal with the world around us. How you gather the information about the world and how you evaluate that information and your attitude. Generally if Im a project manager then I select and develop of an effective project team to follow some idea. First fall check every team members are polite behaviors and the members have more confident. And identifies the members are communicate more openly with each other and then I will make a project team. The members are keen to be accepted into team and look the team leader for guidance and direction. The members are eager to be accepted. 3.5. Risk of Team Failure: There are common problems:- 3.5.1 No Trust between the Team Members: That is most and effective problem to a group. When team members do not trust to each other or are suspicious of each others motives, the end result is a team that is not interrelated in its approach. So we are assessment the team members are related to each other. 3.5.2 Ineffective Interaction and Unproductive Team Meeting: Some of important time all team members comes to attend the meeting. The meeting is one of the most critical aspects of the team process with strategies and innovative to problems emerging during this time. 3.5.3 Poor Role Clarity: When roles are not clearly defined, this can lead to conflict and confusion on tasks. So team member can not understand what exactly is expected of each of them. So identify who is responsible to each tasks and identify they are confidently done this tasks. 3.5.4 Poor Time Management: A team should plan its goal and activities whilst keeping time constraints and deadlines in mind, otherwise their efficiency level in managing and implementing a task can suffer. While a team analysis any task they should define who many times are needed to each task. They are trying to finish that task proper time. 3.5.5 Losing Focus of Business Objective: If every member can unclear the goals of team so they lose of directions and lose of focus efficiency products. And turn lead to wrongly prioritized activities. While a team can identify their goals they can lead better direction and focus the efficient products. 3.5.6 Faulty Analysis of Market Conditions and Flawed Company Policies: If a team can fail to reservations in market condition 3.6. Risk Matrix: This is the simple method to raise visibility of risk and assist the management to make decision against all the risk that arise. It is a graphical representation of information normally found in existing risk logs. Risk matrix is easy to use, unless they are designed properly High Medium Low High Medium Low Consequence Likelihood A A A B B B C C C FIG: Risk Estimation Matrix (From MBP book of NCC Education) 3.6.1 Notes: How to assess the Risk of team failure. A risk assessment is simply a careful checking of what, and identify of any event that if occurred. It may be negatives or positives in our team. There are many reasons for a team can breakdown. So we are researched before making a team. That helps get greater strategic thinking and enhances creativity the proper solution when a team failure. 3.7. Contingency Plan: The contingency plan helps to identify what I will do if the risk occurs. The points are discussed here encapsulate the key issues that can lead to team failure. Team managers and team leaders have to take measures to protect the team from these chains that can wrap themselves around the team and collapse its performance. Diagnosing is the first step to solving the problem. Some of the issues such as role clarity or losing focus of business objectives can be solved by a discussion with the team members. Some of the other problems like poor trust, poor time management, and poor team interaction can be better tackled through team building exercises. Lets now look at the other side of the points, success. If success is what the team is after, then what is it that is expected of teams? What should they do to be successful? Understand their goals Interact, communicate effectively, explore ideas and innovative approaches Be loyal, co-operative, willing to share information and lend a helping hand Understand market realities and develop a sound strategy Keep time frames in mind Know their responsibility within the team and focus on results All this may seem like a tall order but is actually achievable. Everybody on a team is naturally equipped to deal with these factors, the only exception being ‘flawed company policies, which is up to corporate management to resolve. When teams in an organization show problems, then the solution may lie in a deeper analysis of the problem and exploring the areas mentioned above to find a solution. Task 4 Validation and Verification is the process of checking that the product. 4.1. Verification: 4.1.1 Definition: â€Å"Am I building the product right?† The process of determining whether or not the products of given phase of the software development cycle fulfill the requirement established during the previous phase 4.1.2 Purpose The purpose of Verification is to ensure that selected products meet specified requirements. The interpretation of this process area for business development is to ensure business development work products meet specified objectives and criteria. A key work product is the customer proposal. It should be verified that it meets customer-specified needs by conducting a readiness. 4.1.3 Importance: It is important to verify that the business development products meet the external customers needs. Verification increases the likelihood that offered products and services will be accepted by the customer, but it does not guarantee success. Verification is necessary but not sufficient. The business development campaign should include verification milestones throughout the process. Does the proposal meet the buyers specification? What are the risks in the proposal? Do marketing collateral and advertising meet the defined goals and objectives of the campaign? These types of question arise in a project for verification. 4.1.4 Features: verification addresses whether the work product properly reflects the specified requirements Verification includes verification of the product and intermediate work products against all selected requirements, including customer, product and product component requirements. Verification is inherently an incremental process because it occurs throughout the development of the product and work products, Verification of work products substantially increases the likelihood that the product will meet the customer, product, and product component requirements. 4.2. Validation: 4.2.1 Definition: Am I building the right product? Validation is the process that checks the product design satisfies and fits. That provides a high degree of assurance that a product, services, and system accomplished its intended usage â€Å"you built the right product†. There are few terms uses in validation process: Code validation/Testing Function validation/Testing User acceptance Testing or system validation 4.2.2 Purpose: The purpose of Validation is to demonstrate that a product fulfills its intended use when placed in its intended environment. The interpretation of this process area for business development is to validate and to demonstrate that a campaign product or service fulfills its intended use in support of the business development campaign objectives. 4.2.3 Importance: The proposal is a key product of the marketing effort. Prospective customers base their decisions largely on the organizations proposal. Because knowing how to develop a good proposal is critical core competency for business development, it is important to evaluate the readiness of the offer before it is submitted to the customer. The following types of question may in project for validation. What is the size of the market? Is the market growing or contracting? What influences this movement 4.2.4 Features: validation can be applied to work products as well as to the product and product components Validation is to demonstrate that a product or product component fulfills its intended use when placed in its intended environment. Validation demonstrates that the product, as provided, will fulfill its intended use 4.3. Verification and Validation in a Project Lifecycle The need and importance of verification and validation in a project are stated below with a life cycle model. The V-model Operation Test Stress Test Business Analysis Requirements Definition Functional Design Technical Design Programming Source Code Technical Design Functional Design System Requirements Business Requirements Live Simulation Acceptance Test System Test Link Test Unit Test Environment Test SPECIRYING TEST INTERMEDIATE PRODUCT VERIFYING SRAGE 4.3.1 Verification and validation in V model Here validation is taken in the primary stage which named requirements specification to check all the information in accurate and exact for build the project. With the information of previous stage the design stage is developed. Verification is done after the design process to develop evidence of design solution requirements compliance. A shorthand statement of the meaning of verification is commonly voiced as, â€Å"Am I building the product right?† Verification technique aims to detect and aid the designer to correct mistake during the product developments.. After the design is verified, the conceptual model and its associated design are converted into code or hardware by the developer. Code verification and hardware checkout ensure that the detailed design is being implemented correctly in the code or hardware respectively. Code verification normally entails detailed desk checking and software testing of the code, comparing it to the detailed design, documenting any discrep ancies and fixing any problems discovered. Other important activities include participating in code testing, audits, walkthroughs, and inspections; validating input data; preparing complexity report; conducting code analysis; and verifying code structure. Integration checking also sorted out by verification testing to address that is all component of the product or part is integrated properly and accurately. Validation and verification are present throughout all the phase of product life cycle and are composed of a wide variety of activities. The validation and verification activities are detection and correction of errors. In incremental assessment, which verification and validation activities provide at each phase of the process model. The information gives the progressive view of the productivity of the development process and quality of the product. 4.3.2 In a project life cycle verification and validation can arise in different stages. Those are mentioned below Requirements Interface requirements Developmental plans Configuration Management Plan Quality Assurance Plans Studies and Analyses 4.3.3 Checking Procedure of verification and validation Checked all the item that may need for the project development Requirement are checked through validation Test all the module for integrating correctly Design of the development mu

Boundary Lines - Gender Through The Prism Of Difference Essay -- sexua

Sexual harassment is still not recognized today by many individuals as an actual offense. Sexual harassment was talked about and was recognized in 1976 but the law making it illegal was not passed until 10 years later in 1986. The law states that â€Å"it is unlawful to harass a person because of their sex. Harassment can include sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.† The law doesn’t include simple teasing, small comments or incidents that aren’t serious. But it becomes illegal when it happens more than once and the severity of the comments makes the work environment uncomfortable. The problem today is knowing what is actually considered sexual harassment as everyone takes it differently and when comments or jokes are being taken too far. Chapter 36 discusses a study that focused on waitressing as many restaurants have an obviously sexualized workplace. The book says â€Å"sexual attractiveness and flirtation are often institutionalized parts of a waitpersons job description.† When applying for jobs many workplaces hire attractive looking women, as they believe it will attract more people to their business. I find this to be unfair as men do not have this standard. When men apply for a job they look directly at the individual’s skills, not what they look like. It used to be said that in addition to popularity and access to their choice of a mate, attractive people tend to receive higher evaluations and salaries than their peers so people would then assume that it would always be an advantage to be an attractive male or female in the workplace. But this is not true in all cases. Newer research shows that being an attractive man was an advan... ... if you are married they will still say inappropriate comments to you, even if they know who your married to, some guys just don’t care. In the end sexual harassment is not okay, especially in the workplace. Women shouldn’t have to feel like they are just an object at work. Women’s confidence can be lowered by receiving sexual harassing comments from men. Men should be respectful during work hours, even joking around about sex during work doesn’t seem appropriate if you’re working around other people who could hear you. Works Cited Giuffre, Patti A., and Christine L. Williams. "Boundary Lines." Gender Through The Prism Of Difference. 4th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. 403-17. Print. Gomez, Evangeline. "Should Businesses Worry About Appearance-Based Discrimination in the Workplace?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 31 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.

Death Foretold by Symbols

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the author of the very intriguing novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold. The chronicle â€Å"is very strange and brilliantly conceived,† and â€Å" a sort of metaphysical murder mystery in which the detective, Garcia Marquez himself, reconstructs events associated with the murder 27 years earlier of Santiago Nasar, a rich, handsome fellow who lived in the Caribbean town where the author grew up† (Michaels, P. 1). Marquez plays himself in the novel, interviewing people who remember the murder and studies documents assembled by the court. He gathers various kinds of data—dreams, gossip, philosophical speculation, weather reports—and creates a chronological record of what occurred. The data that is accumulated demonstrates that symbolism was very prominent in the story and essential to the death of Santiago Nasar. Symbolism is first set up when it is introduced to the readers that Santiago Nasar had dreamed the night before his death that he was flying: â€Å"He’d dreamed he was going through a grove of timber trees where a gentle drizzle was falling, and for an instant he was happy in his dream, but when he awoke he felt completely spattered with bird shit† (Marquez, P. ). Beginning with the place, Nasar was passing by timber trees which are evergreens. â€Å"Evergreens represent immortality, everlasting life or an undying spirit, ironically enough† (â€Å"Symbolism in Chronicle of a Death foretold†). This adds to the whole ironic theme represented in a symbolic way. What is also symbolic about this piece is that flying usually represents moving to the next level spiritually. So that foreshadows his death. Another related dream that Nasar had was the one in which he was alone in a tinfoil airplane and â€Å"’flying through the almond trees without bumping into anything’† (Marquez, P. ). These almond trees are a symbol of virginity, divine favor, and purity. Trees are also recognized as being feminine. This could be representative of Santiago Nasar flying through a grove of virginal Angela Vicario. His airplane did not bump into anything, leaving the trees fully intact. This could also represent the innocence of Nasar, saying that he did not touch Angela. His innocence could also be represented in a form of Jesus. Santiago and Jesus Christ can be direct parallels when Marquez writes: â€Å"Santiago put on a shirt and pants of white linen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Marquez, P5). Since white is the color of innocence and purity, this choice of clothing promotes those attributes. Jesus wore a linen cloth before his death as well and was aware that they were going to kill him, much like Nasar. Not only is this symbolism, but religious also. The bishop coming to town also gives a slight symbolic feature. This is because a bishop could resemble god in the way when he blesses, hears sins and such (â€Å"Bishop†). So god coming to town could foreshadow something big occurring as well. As many Christians and Catholics would agree it’s a very big deal, so it being a very big deal, one would think that everyone would behave but the exact opposite occurs when Santiago Nasar is murdered in such a brutal way right infront of his home. This story is filled with irony. When Nasar tells his mother about the symbolic dreams it would have been ideal for her to decipher them and tell him that they meant death. But instead it is mentioned that she did not recognize anything ominous within them. It is also quite ironic when he mentions, the day of his death, that â€Å"it was a very beautiful day† (Marquez, P. ) when most people agreed that the weather was funeral, with a cloudy, low sky and the thick smell of still waters, and that at the moment of the misfortune a thin drizzle was falling like the one Santiago Nasar had seen in his dream grove. Another malicious omen ignored. In a certain way, it is understandable that a lot of omens and symbols are ignored because they are not facts. The work that Marquez does is supposed to be â€Å"journalistic and factual† (â€Å"Chronicle of a Death Foretold†) and symbols would be counter-productive because they are not very good evidence, so they become anecdotes. However, if the people in town would have interpreted the symbols and warned him, he would be alive. But then again, if that would have occurred in the interesting novel, it wouldn’t be called Chronicle of a Death Foretold. It would just be Death or something like that, which eliminates all the entertainment. Returning to the symbols, we also see that flowers are important. A day before the death of Santiago Nasar, he distinctively told Marquez that he did not like flowers because they remind him of a funeral. This is also ronic because usually flowers are meant to represent purity, love, happiness, etc. But in his case it was the opposite. Other prominent symbols are the knives that the Vicario brothers used to kill Nasar, because almost everyone had seen them. Not only did they see the knives but when they did the Vicario brothers even rubbed it more in by saying that they were going to kill Santiago Nasar. The townspeople were very ignorant by believing that they would not carry on with the malicious deed. So they had great reticence by doing this. The ending adds to the both ironic and symbolic theme of the story. Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman reconciliate and it is foreknowledged if one looks at how many letters Angela sends Bayardo in the years that they are separated. But the twist is that he does not even open them. Chronicle of a Death Foretold puzzles the reader by demonstrating many symbols that foreshadow the death of Santiago Nasar. Dreams, clothing, flowers, weather, knives, and letters are just a few that make the story more interesting by giving it a symbolic view. If they had been ignored the story would not be the story that it is. Therefore, symbolism and irony play a very significant role in the story.

Midterm Learning Reflection Essay

Introduction. You should print this out, although you may also use it as a template to type over. You will be writing two reflections this term: a midterm reflection and a final reflection. The final reflection is the one you want to have ultimately on your portfolio. Both your midterm and final learning reflections must be 700 to 1000 words, which is approximately two to three MLA-formatted pages. You can check your word count by going to Tools/Word Count on the menu bar. Style and Format. The writing style of the learning reflection is primarily expressive, but will also contain narrative elements. You do not need a Works Cited page unless you cite something. So, if, for example, you cite song lyrics, one of our texts, a poem, or even a work of art, then you need a Works Cited page. I’ve included one here to serve you for formatting purposes. File formats. We are going to be learning how to convert Word documents to pdf format so that they load more easily in a browser window. If you can, please practice with one or both of the following two methods, which are what I use (they are free). 1. Install a free pdf converter. These are not truly â€Å"free† in that they either force you to look at some advertising or they add a line on each page advertising the manufacturer of the software. I don’t have a problem with either of these and gladly suffer through the free advertising every time I convert a file to pdf, which I do all the time. The one I use to create all the pdf files for my classes is at http://www.pdf995.com/download.html. Download both the Pdf995 Printer Driver and the Free Converter (they are both free; they are required to work together, but for some reason, they are two separate downloads). After you go through the download and installation process, every time you want to create a pdf file from Word, all you need to do is select File/Print and then chose PDF995, which will show up as a â€Å"printer.† When you initiate this process of creating a pdf file, you will be prompted for a place to save the file, as well as a file name. Be careful to save the file to your H: drive or, if to your C: drive, to ftp (transfer) it over to your H: drive later. You will notice that some advertisements come up as the conversion process occurs. That’s the â€Å"price† you pay for the free conversion software. 2. The other pdf-conversion method I like is to use the free OpenOffice word processing software. This software should be in our labs. You can also download it for free on your own computer, from http://www.openoffice.org/. This is basically an open-source version of Microsoft Office. Once you’ve installed it (it’s large and takes a while to install), you can open any Word document with the OpenOffice word processing program (Open Document). Some of the original Word formatting may be lost – especially the header information with your last name and page number. You will need to add that back in; be sure you do it correctly. When you’re satisfied with the format, there is a little pdf icon on the toolbar that you can click, and that will automatically convert the document to pdf format. Learning Reflection Content. What should you discuss in your reflection? In general, you discuss what you’ve learned, what you’ve done especially well, what you’ve enjoyed – and the challenges you’ve encountered and how you might make changes in the future. Here are some suggestions for what to write about: †¢ Your experience transitioning from high school (or wherever you were previously) to a freshman in college, focusing on how you have grown as an individual and an independent student. †¢ Your experience in this particular course – your year-long freshman inquiry. In this regard, you should probably focus on the University Studies goals and the ways in which you have grown and developed with respect to those goals. I would expect that other courses have also contributed to the goal areas, so you might want to highlight any that have been particularly useful in that regard. †¢ Other experiences as a student here at Portland State. Portland State University’s mission is â€Å"Let Knowledge Serve the City,† which reflects the fact that we are an urban university. What have you learned with respect to community, diversity, and the connection between a learning community (the university) and the city in which it is located? Keep in mind that you may have acquired valuable experiences outside of the classroom, but still connected to your identity as a student. o Perhaps you have learned important lessons about discipline and time management as a student athlete, which may serve you well when you enter the workforce. o Maybe your involvement in activities with other students – such as taking dance classes or playing in the band or spending hours in an art studio or toughing out chemistry and physics labs – has improved your personal skills and brought to light new areas of interest, which you’ve pursued in your free time. o Or perhaps you’ve found out that you are a loner, that you haven’t connected very well with a lot of the people in your classes. As you reflect on this (or any other conclusions that some – maybe you – might consider, well, depressing), think of this is an opportunity to think of ways to make some changes in the future. †¢ A reflection, in other words, should include a self-assessment element as well as thinking along the lines of â€Å"What could I do better or differently in the future?† Consider the challenges you’ve faced, how you’ve overcome them, or how you’d like to overcome them in the fu ture. Conclusion. Your reflection should end in a way that gives the reader the sense that you are closing up a chapter in your life and ready to move on, with some ideas in mind of what you might do differently. My suggestion is that you do not spend a lot of time critiquing the world around you; after all, you can’t change that very much. Confine your reflection to you and what you have learned and experienced. Dwelling on what you don’t like about a given course or program is not a reflection about you, but about something else. Works Cited Eakin, Paul John. How Our Lives Become Stories: Making Selves. Ithaca and London: Cornell UP, 1999. Fiske, John. â€Å"Popular Culture.† Critical Terms for Literary Study. Ed. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. 321 – 335. Harrison, Claire. â€Å"Hypertext Links: Whither Thou Goest, and Why.† First Monday. 7 Oct. 2002. 10 Feb. 2004 .

grrek essays

grrek essays The basis of Greek drama was a religious festival, which paid homage to Dyonicis, god of wine and fertility. Greek drama consisted of a protagonist, the main character, of noble birth whose life is full of happiness in the beginning, but ends up in agony in the end due to their tragic flaw or weakness. To provide all the background information about the characters and the play the chorus was also an important part in a Greek drama. Even now, these elements can still be found in a play or a television sitcom. A good example of a Greek drama is the Pilot episode of the HBO show Six Feet Under. The episode begins with a commercial about a glamorous hearse. The commercial divides the acts of the episode. Before a new act begins, the commercial provides the audience with the information about a product, which will be used in the act. The commercials are a part of the episode, but at the same time, it provides the audience with background information like the chorus did in the Greek dramas. After the hearse commercial Nathaniel Fisher, the owner of the Fisher and Sons Funeral Home, is introduced. It is Christmas Eve in Los Angeles and Nathaniel is on his way to pick up his oldest son Nate in his new hearse from the airport. Then his cell phone rings and the audience are introduced to his wife Ruth. She nags at him for not taking his vitamins and for smoking in the new hearse. She tells Nathaniel if he keeps on smoking he will end up dying a slow and horrible death which foreshadows the accident Nathaniel is about to get into. At the same time, she is serving her second son, Dave, breakfast. Dave is telling his mom it was a mistake to let his father take the new hearse. She then reminds Nathaniel about the time when Nate got a new motorcycle and how he still has a pin in his foot which is foreshadowing the accident again. The ironic thing is Nathaniel is listening and singing along to the song Ill Be Home for C...

True Confessions essays

True Confessions essays Robert A. Heinlein once said, "A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. The punishment imposed on one by others is not as destructive as the guilt that person experiences. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the theme of sin to show how when unconfessed, that sin will destroy the sinners soul. First, Hester also commits the sin of Adultery. She immediately confesses and, therefore, must stand on the scaffold in solitude for three hours and bear her scarlet letters, the actual letter badge and Pearl, to show for it. Both the actual scarlet letter and Pearl symbolize her sin. Although, for seven years she has, been shunned and mocked by the townspeople, they have come to respect her. Through devoting herself to charity and her selflessness, she has gained the respect and the kindness of the townspeople. Hesters scarlet letter has come to represent, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since (159). Hesters sin was confessed and she suffered for it on earth, therefore she will be able to spend eternity in Heaven. Secondly, Chillingworth commits the sin vengeance. He represents the ultimate evil of the novel. His entire life is consumed to find out the father of Pearl and destroy him, it takes over his very being, I shall see him tremble (73) When he finds out that the father is Dimmmesdale, he tortures and antagonizes him mentally. Dimmesdale is haunted was either by Satan himself, or Satans emmissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth (124). The term leech is used to describe Chillingworth because it describes how he is sucking secrets out of Dimmesdale and the way he is sticking to him to get revenge. As Dimmesdale puts it, That old mans revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violat ...

An Exploration of Matrilineal Art in In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens

An Exploration of Matrilineal Art in In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens In the essay â€Å"In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,† Alice Walker presents a moving portrait of matrilineal art and creativity extending throughout black history. Following this line, Walker illustrates generations upon generations of lost artists, mothers and grandmothers â€Å"driven to a numb and bleeding madness by the springs of creativity in them for which there was no release† (232). Among her imagined foremothers, Walker conjures the nameless ghosts of unrecognized genius and talent: stifled painters, thinkers, and sculptors emerge as black incarnations in the tradition of Virginia Woolf’s Judith Shakespeare. Walker traces this lineage, suggesting that even when systemically repressed and silenced, this creative spirit has survived, if only to be passed down in the hope of finding expression in the next generation of black women. In her exploration of Walker’s fascination with matrilineal inheritance, Dianne Sadoff notes a certain disparity between Walker’s veneration of her foremothers in certain texts and her anxieties about motherhood in others. Proposing a revision of Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s theory of the â€Å"anxiety of influence† unique to female authors—itself a revision of Harold Bloom’s model of literary influence—Sadoff suggests that although Walker’s conception of matrilineage appears â€Å"not at all melancholy or anxiety laden,† her fixation on the subject â€Å"masks an underlying anxiety that emerges, although disguised, in Walker’s fiction† (7). Indeed, for all Walker’s veneration of mothers—both biological and otherwise—the sacred state of motherhood receives a notably different treatment in Meridian. Walker’s second novel sees motherhood both implicitly and explicitly aligned with necessary and inevitable death. Complete with a cast of corpses both literal and metaphorical, mothers dying both real and symbolic deaths, Meridian presents an unmistakable association between womanhood and death, underscoring a dominant patriarchal narrative in which female martyrdom is privileged at best, and demanded at worst. Silenced by a patriarchal order reflected in a Lancanian conception of paternal structures of meaning, these mothers see their voices stifled and suffocated in their offspring, rather than renewed in the promise of a new generation as illustrated in â€Å"In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens.† Out of this cast of corpses, Meridian’s titular character emerges to break the cycle of silence and martyrdom by refusing motherhood—the most privileged form of female sacrifice. In refusing to accept suffering or to privilege the sacrificial rite of motherhood, Meridian issues a challenge to the patriarchal order, one that parallels a similar rejection of the martyrdom associated with the novel’s conception of collectivist activism. In Meridian, dominant narratives surrounding both womanhood and political collectivism encourage and privilege suffering and sacrifice for an allegedly noble cause. Both as a woman and an activist, Meridian maintains her individuality at all costs, refusing to conform to any collectivist demands that insist she sacrifice her identity or independence. In refusing to conform to these patriarchal standards and rejecting martyrdom, Meridian escapes the narrative of sacrifice that plagues her fellow activists. As Lynn Pifer outlines, Meri dian’s eventual reconciliation of political activism with her need for individualism parallels her gradual reclamation of voice. At the end of the text, Meridian—who spends much of the novel refusing to participate in authorized discourse—at last â€Å"finds her voice and moves beyond her method of strategic silences† (Pifer 88). Meridian’s rejection of motherhood issues a challenge to the patriarchal narrative of suffering, while simultaneously breaking the Lacanian cycle of silence. In rejecting motherhood and martyrdom, Meridian gains the freedom to accept and use language outside the parameters of authorized patriarchal discourse. As noted, motherhood in Meridian is enacted primarily by a cast of dead women. Among the ensemble are literal corpses, along with departed women whose deaths have lived on in folklore, and even still-living women who have suffered metaphorical deaths. To this body count, I offer for comparison the addition of another famous literary corpse mother: Addie Bundren in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. At various points throughout Meridian, the decidedly postmodern novel invites comparison to its modernist predecessors, specifically in its occasional evocation of a distinctly southern gothic grotesque. This Faulknerian imagery is perhaps most evident in the novel’s bizarre opening scene, featuring none other than the novel’s first maternal corpse: the body of the slain Marilene O’Shay repurposed as a carnival attraction. This influence resurfaces later in the novel, with the description of Meridian’s mother bearing prominent similarities to Faulknerâ₠¬â„¢s Addie Bundren. Presenting Faulkner’s Addie as parallel to Walker’s Mrs. Hill, an analysis of the Lacanian significance of Addie’s rejection of language illuminates a similar treatment of language and motherhood at work in Meridian. First, however, it may be helpful to examine the corpse mothers of Meridian exclusively. The novel’s first corpse, the grotesque Marilene O’Shay, functions as a literal embodiment of the dominant female narrative against which Meridian pushes. Pointing to the the three epithets painted on O’Shay’s carnival trailer: â€Å"Obedient Daughter, Devoted Wife, and Adoring Mother (Gone Wrong),† Pifer illustrates the ways in which the corpse â€Å"sums up the narrow possibilities for women in a patriarchal society,† (80). Significantly for Meridian, whose reluctance to submerge or obscure her identity drives much of the conflict in the story, these â€Å"possibilities† all necessarily compromise a woman’s individuality, redefining her identity in terms of her relationships within the patriarchal order. While Marilene’s violent death at the hands of her husband speaks to a recurring motif of sexual violence against women throughout the novel, perhaps of even greater significance is her ability to fall back into her husband’s favor in death. Despite the allegedly universal acknowledgement among authorities and family members alike that O’Shay’s actions against his wife are justified, â€Å"Cause this bitch was doing him wrong,† the wronged husband softens considerably toward his wife in death (Walker 7). When her body resurfaces years later, according to the local legend, â€Å"He’d done forgiven her by then, and felt like he wouldn’t mind having her with him again,† (8). In death, Marilene O’Shay is the embodiment of ideal womanhood: sacrificed, silent, and, as Pifer notes, â€Å"utterly possessed† (81). In her petrified and powerless state, Marilene ascends to such a high rank of patriarchal womanhood that her va lue is literally quantifiable. Deciding his wife’s body could be â€Å"a way to make a little spare change in his ol’ age,† Henry O’Shay effectively commodifies his wife (Walker 8). Marilene’s successors, the novel’s other female corpses, all follow in her footsteps as â€Å"mothers gone wrong,† in some capacity or other. Meridian highlights a narrative in which womanhood is almost synonymous with motherhood, depicting a series of women who simultaneously meet their demise and maximize their societal value as martyrs through motherhood. The Wild Child is the next victim of womanhood to surface in the novel. â€Å"Running heavily across a street, her stomach the largest part of her,† The Wild Child dies largely a victim of her pregnancy (Walker 25). While in life, The Wild Child is rejected by all but Meridian, in death her value increases, not unlike that of Marilene O’Shay. When The Wild Child dies, the same Saxon classmates who previously begged their house mother to have Meridian’s young ward removed from the honor’s house find new appeal in the slain girl, showing up to her funeral in large numbers and prompti ng to Meridian to drily remark, â€Å"I would never have guessed Wile Chile had so many friends† (28). In life, The Wild Child is at best an inconvenience, at worst an abomination. In death, she suddenly becomes an attractive symbol of martyrdom, one the students repurpose for their own misguided and ultimately self-destructive demonstration. Fast Mary is another figure of Saxon folklore whose tragic death, romanticized by the students, renders her a sacred martyr of The Movement. In a particularly gory instance of â€Å"motherhood gone wrong,† Fast Mary is forced to hide a pregnancy from the Saxon administration before dismembering the child and attempting to dispose of it. After getting caught, Mary hangs herself in solitary confinement. Like The Wild Child, Fast Mary owes her popularity to her tragic death, in which she is immortalized as another symbol of martyrdom for the would-be Saxon revolutionaries. As Pifer notes, the students â€Å"relish the story of a girl forced to go to terrible lengths to maintain the college’s demands,† (82). In fetishizing Fast Mary as a tragic and heroic icon, Saxon’s aspiring activists unwittingly fall into the patriarchal narrative themselves by equating Fast Mary’s worth with her suffering. While the deaths of Marilene O’Shay, The Wild Child, and Fast Mary are literal, other living women in the novel suffer symbolic or metaphorical death. As Pifer summarizes, â€Å"Perfect women in this community, as Meridian well knows, are perfectly mindless, nicely dressed, walking corpses† (84). Most notable among these walking corpses is Meridian’s own mother, who compares motherhood to â€Å"being buried alive† (Walker 42). Not unlike the young Saxon women canonizing Fast Mary’s tragedy within their community folklore, Meridian’s mother finds herself trapped in a patriarchal narrative that praises motherly suffering and sacrifice. Although she disdains the shabby outward appearance of other mothers, Mrs. Hill cannot help but imagine in these women â€Å"a mysterious inner life, secret from her, that made them willing, even happy, to endure† (41). Meridian’s mother is so seduced by the glorified image of maternal suffering tha t she decides to join their ranks herself, only to realize that â€Å"the mysterious inner life she had imagined was simply a full knowledge of the fact that they were dead, living just enough for their children† (42). Despite her disappointment, Meridian’s mother completes the patriarchal narrative by ultimately coming to take pride in her suffering and sacrifice, proudly proclaiming that she has six children, â€Å"Though I never wanted to have any,† (Walker 88). Sadoff presents a similar analysis of Mrs. Hill, further contextualizing her inevitable demise from independent woman to walking corpse within the tradition of matrilineal decay: Now anti-intellectual, prejudiced, and blindly religious, Meridian’s mother nonetheless once fought her father’s sexism, her own poverty, and the racist system to become a schoolteacher. The cost: her mother’s life and willing self-sacrifice. As a daughter who becomes a mother and so participates in matrilineage, Meridian’s mother represents the history of black motherhood: a legacy of suffering, endurance, and self-sacrifice. (23). Against this portrait of Mrs. Hill, I present for comparison Faulkner’s Addie Bundren, whose own embodiment of maternal suffering reflects Lacanian structures of meaning that illuminate Meridian’s challenge to the patriarchal order and reclamation of voice. Both Meridian’s mother and the matriarch of the Bundren family belong to the quasi-deceased. While Mrs. Hill finds metaphorical death in motherhood, Addie narrates her sole chapter in Faulkner’s famously polyvocal narrative from beyond the grave. Both women are former school teachers who ultimately feel deceived once persuaded to abandon their teaching posts for marriage. Equal parts unimpressed and violated by their husbands, both women bemoan the false promises of domestic bliss. â€Å"I realized that I had been tricked by words older than Anse or love,† Addie laments, referring to the ancient tradition of the patriarchal order to which she has fallen victim (Faulkner 100). Mrs. Hill, too, blames systems beyond herself in the assertion that â€Å"she could never forgive her community, her family, his family, the whole world, for not warning her against children† (Walker 41). Both women struggle to define and identify with love, and both ultimately end up at lukewarm conclusions; Mrs. Hill settles with a â€Å"toleration for [her husband’s] personal habits that she identified as Love,† while Addie remains skeptical of the concept altogether, mustering only the indifferent claim, â€Å"It was Anse or love, love or Anse, it didn’t matter† (Walker 41, Faulkner 99). Perhaps most significantly, both women feel an intense violation and abstraction with childbirth. Addie remarks that her â€Å"aloneness had been violated† with the birth of her first child, while Mrs. Hill’s first pregnancy finds her â€Å"as divided in her mind as her body was divided, between what part was herself and what part was not† (Faulkner 99, Walker 42). In her analysis of As I Lay Dying, Doreen Fowler identifies another key aspect of Addie’s character, one that surfaces in Mrs. Hill’s character as well: a rejection of language. Addie’s famous, fragmented pronouncement that â€Å"words are no good; that words dont [sic] ever fit even what they are to say at† prefigures her denouncement of each in a series of social constructs— including love, sin, fear, and salvation—as merely â€Å"a word like the others; just a shape to fill a lack† (Faulkner 99). Interpreting this in Lacanian terms, Fowler argues that â€Å"Addie hates language because it is based on separation and difference† (320). In basic Lacanian ideology, as a Fowler outlines, a child enters the realm of the symbolic and acquires language by becoming aware of difference and separating from the mother, reflecting Saussurean structures of language that insist a sign has meaning only in its difference from other signs. If separation from the mother is the key to the symbolic realm, then â€Å"the murder of the mother is constructed as positive step toward establishing identity,† thus providing an explanation of the mother-as-corpse motif prominent in both As I Lay Dying and Meridian (317). However, it is not enough to simply kill the mother. Once the child has achieved this separation from the mother, the child must then â€Å"generate substitutes for her that are permissible within the Law of the Father† (Fowler 320). This production of substitutions is where the previously shared experience of the Lacanian order diverges for sons and daughters. Fowler calls on Nancy Chodorow’s theory of maternity to explain the daughter’s inevitable repetition of her mother’s fate. According to Chodorow, when the child attempts to recreate the initial unity with the mother through replacements, the daughter does so by becoming a mother herself, thus renewing the Lacanian cycle and perpetuating a patriarchal order that in turn demands the new mother’s own death (Fowler 318). Addie hates language because it is made possible by the same patriarchal system that necessitates her death. Parallel to Addie’s rejection of language is Mrs. Hill’ s rejection of creative expression of any kind. Much like the generations of lost artists Walker memorializes in â€Å"In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,† Mrs. Hill is aware that â€Å"creativity was in her, but it was refused expression† (Meridian 42). Unlike the silenced foremothers of â€Å"Gardens,† however, Meridian’s mother does not appear to carry any hope of passing her stifled creativity along to the next generation. Rather, her silence is deliberate and in some sense vengeful, â€Å"a war against those to whom she could not express her anger or shout, ‘It’s not fair!’† Finding herself trapped in the living death demanded by the patriarchal order, Meridian’s mother wants to see the same fate inflicted on the next generation. Mrs. Hill vows never to forgive her foremothers for not warning her, and in turn enacts her revenge through silence, refusing to warn the next generation of women. Meridian’s friend, the oft-pregnant Nelda, suspects as much: à ¢â‚¬Å"Nelda knew that the information she had needed to get through her adolescence was information Mrs. Hill could have given her† (Walker 86). A victim of the Lacanian cycle, Mrs. Hill keeps quiet, in her silence willfully allowing the next generation of women to fall victim to the same metaphorical death. In spite of her mother’s influence, however, Meridian successfully refuses motherhood, finally breaking the Lacanian cycle of matricide. In As I Lay Dying, Addie’s revenge by silence comes to fruition, with her pregnant daughter—the teenaged Dewey Dell—failing to procure an abortion and succumbing to her role as the displaced, deceased mother. Meridian, however, suggests a more hopeful future for womanhood. Meridian successfully breaks the Lacanian cycle of martyrdom by refusing motherhood—through adoption, abortion, and finally, castration. In this refusal to privilege maternal suffering or to compromise her identity by allowing her child’s needs to obscure her own, Meridian issues a challenge to the patriarchal order, one she will repeat against the collectivist demands of The Movement. Not unlike her mother, Meridian displays her own complicated relationship with language throughout the novel, preferring silence over blind participation in authorized patriarchal discourse. In her analysis, Pifer parallels Meridian’s successful reconciliation of her political and personal beliefs at the end of the novel with her simultaneous reclamation of voice. Throughout the novel, Meridian flees the erasure of the individual dominant in narratives of motherhood and activism. Aware of the self-destructive powers of collectivism, Meridian repeatedly rejects the authorized discourse of a series of communities, beginning with her childhood church congregation. Meridian’s inability to â€Å"say it now and be saved,† to pronounce empty allegiance to the Christian savior and martyr, resurfaces in her inability to complete the oath promising to kill for The Movement (Walker 16). Rejecting systems that obscure individuality and privilege martyrdom, Meridian pursues a path of independent activism in much the same way as she chooses a single life not submerged in wife or motherhood. She refuses to seek glory as a martyr for any cause, understanding that â€Å"the respect she owed her life was to continue, against whatever obstacles, to live it, and not to give up any particle of it without a fight to the death, preferably not her own† (220). When this understanding leads to the realization that Meridian could in fact kill, it is not for the sake of any blind collectivist doctrine or â€Å"movement,† but rather for her own sake or that of another individual. Pifer’s reading sees Meridian’s transcendence of the â€Å"murderous philosophy of the would-be revolutionary cadre† consummated as she joins her voice in song with the congregation and â€Å"her personal identity becomes part of their collective identity† (88). Meridian’s reclamation of her voice signals an acceptance of language—a reply to her mother’s tight-lipped rejection of creative expression—that breaks with the Lacanian order. In her refusal to have children, Meridian refuses to continue the Lacanian cycle of achieving difference and separation only to submerge it once again in an attempted return to unity through childbirth. In breaking this cycle, Meridian issues a challenge to the patriarchal order. Freed from the obligation to discard her independence and submerge difference—the Lacanian heart of language—in motherhood, Meridian gains full control of her voice. Meridian no longer has to pass the creative spark silently on to the next generation. She does not have to bury her stifled voice in her mother’s garden. Free of the patriarchal order, Meridian finally gives life to the voices of her foremothers. Works Cited Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. Edited by Michael Gorra. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2010. Fowler, Doreen. â€Å"Matricide and the Mother’s Revenge: As I Lay Dying.† The Faulkner Journal 4. 12 (1991). Rpt. in As I Lay Dying. Edited by Michael Gorra. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2010. Pifer, Lynn. â€Å"Coming to Voice in Alice Walker’s Meridian: Speaking Out for the Revolution.† African American Review, vol. 26, no.1, 1992, pp. 77-88. JSTOR. Sadoff, Dianne F. â€Å"Black Matrilineage: The Case of Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston.† Signs, vol. 11, no. 1, 1985, pp. 4–26. JSTOR. Walker, Alice. â€Å"In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.† In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens. New York: Harcourt. Brace Jovanovich, 1983: pp. 231-244. Walker, Alice. Meridian. New York: Harcourt, 2003.

Wal-Mart and the UFCW (labour relations) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wal-Mart and the UFCW (labour relations) - Essay Example to close its stores in locations where workers struggle to gain the support of labor unions, moving to court to oppose the actions undertaken by unions, conducting public relations campaign on its website, and replacing workers who act against the company. The company uses all these strategies so that it can continue paying workers low monthly wages and low compensation for over time. While the firm opposed labor unions in Saskatchewan, it faced legal, social, and political environmental factors. The company opposes the entry of its workers in trade unions to prevent the unions from representing employees and bargaining for higher wages and over time charges. For example, the company opposed the certification of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) in Saskatchewan, in 2004. The union applied for certification with the Saskatchewan Labor Relations Board (Vance, & Paik, 2011). The board ordered Wal-Mart to provide the union with the relevant documentation. However, the managers of Wal-Mart filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada, and this delayed the certification of UFCW. In 2009, Wal-Mart appealed against a court order that granted UFCW the certification to represent the employees of the company (Hamilton, & Webster, 2009). This led to the withdrawal of the certification in June, in the same year. While still opposing the certification of trade unions in court, the company also instills fear in employees by threatening to close its stores. Such a thre at triggers workers to restrain from supporting trade unions so that they can retain their jobs. The company threatened to close one of its retail outlets in Quebec, in North America because the workers of the store had signed an agreement with a trade union that had lasted for four months (Lewin, Kaufman, & Gollan, 2011). The company also threatens its workers that it may replace them whenever they act against the aims of the organization (Mattera, 2013). Since this means that workers lose

Leaders and Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leaders and Leadership - Assignment Example This involved operation out of a sense of calling and not self drive or willingness. God had called for Jesus to instill righteous views in people. This is also transformational leadership according to Ford (Ford, 1991, p.60). This would compel others to respond. Effective leadership involves transparency with respect to one’s individual life, family and even an institution one belongs. Leaders are inclined to form teams and such teams look for leaders and a leader like Jesus does not need followers. The leadership as modeled by Jesus was that of servant leadership. Jesus’ instructions are based upon a principle â€Å"the one who rules’ should be the like the one who serves† (Ford, 1991, p. 153). Instead of building any organization, Jesus focused on the idea of collecting people with shared vision. He spent efforts on trust building. A leader might face opposition from prominent places. Jesus experienced the same but never distanced his enemies and propagated love and harmony throughout. This showed his humility and integrity. Thus leaders cannot be dictators but should set righteous examples before others. This is unlike Hitler and Stalin who were dictators or extreme leaders without any character attributes to be followed. In fact one may call his leadership timeless and relevant even in modern times because he had all qualities one would expect from a perfect leader who maintains accountability in order to stay within boundaries and provide new direction and inspiration for an organization. Authority should be applied in order to motivate trust from people and make them follow their example (Tucker and Russel, 2004, p.103). Transformation leadership, as conceptualized by Burn involves four categories – â€Å"idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration and inspirational motivation†

Analysis of Hiibel Vs. Nevada Case Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Hiibel Vs. Nevada Case - Term Paper Example In Hiibel vs. Nevada, the court held that the stop and identify laws of Nevada does not violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendment of the constitution, which protects a person against detention or when a person faces the threat of being apprehended (Hibbel v. Nevada†¦). Thus the majority of the court supported the fact that stopping a person and asking for identity did not violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendment when circumstances showed that there is a probable cause to believe that the accused may have committed a crime and the accused was not in danger of being apprehended by disclosing his identity. The dissent showed that some judges opined otherwise. In Terry vs. Ohio, the court held that police officers can stop and search a person even when there is no probable cause and there is reasonable suspicion. In such case, the search won’t violate the Fourth Amendment. Whereas, in Brown vs. Texas it was held that Texas’s stop and identify law was unconstitutional as it violated the Fourth Amendment. Though, Brown vs. Texas seems to be going against the decision of the previous two cases but it is actually not so. The Texas law declared every person a criminal who does not identify himself. It does not exclude the person against whom there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause, and this makes it unconstitutional. On the other hand, Hiibel vs. Nevada and Terry vs. Ohio had probable cause and reasonable cause respectively. Thus, the law derived through the dissent is, when there is probable cause and reasonable cause the application of stop and identify laws by the officer will be absolutely legal and when it not the re it will be illegal. The dissent also makes it clear that on the same condition the stop and identify laws of the state will be valid or invalid.

Human Sexuality and Disability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human Sexuality and Disability - Case Study Example From this study it is clear that social control over sexuality, bound up with control over birthrate and morality, becomes a fundamental class and race marker, or just a kind of measure of normality. It should be mentioned that sexuality of individuals with disabilities is mostly taken as taboo and avoided giving publicity, as well as gender identity is often represented as disabled, e. d. problematic. The most ordinary example of the fact that society rejects sexual identity of people with disabilities is symbols on the rest-room doors.This paper stresses that  nevertheless on dealing with pure sexuality one may notice that disability in the first instance threatens to masculine. The reason is that female gender identity is not contradictory to disabled people passivity.   As for the disabled man it is clear that on drawing an analogy between himself and a popular culture ‘hero’ character, an active, successful, and well-knit men, he realizes a dissonance. In this c ase we get conflicting identities. This conflict gets to the center of attention of popular culture, appealing to disabled image. Tom Cruise’s character in the movie    «The Men, Born on the Fourth of July » is a classical example of an individual with disability living in US. The white war-horse is heavily trying to get used to own disability, which is presented in the context of emasculation or sexual disability.  All attempts to have some sexual life just face women’s jeers.... In the 1980'es the new ideology of 'normalization' came into existence, though eugenics continued to exist showing itself in fear and enmity. People having difficulties in learning have been usually treated as unable to play 'usual' (including sexual) roles. As a matter of fact gender identity makes different possibilities for a man and for a woman. In spite of the fact the demographical data is characterized by predominance of aged disabled women, most of them even of young age are treated like useless from the point of view of fertility, that is to say for performance of traditionally women's roles (Fine and Asch, 1988). Nevertheless on dealing with pure sexuality one may notice that disability in the first instance threatens to masculine. The reason is that female gender identity is not contradictory to disabled people passivity. As for the disabled man it is clear that on drawing an analogy between himself and a popular culture 'hero' character, an active, successful, and well-knit men, he realizes a dissonance. In this case we get conflicting identities. This conflict gets to the center of attention of popular culture, appealing to disabled image. Tom Cruise's character in the movie 'The Men, Born on the Fourth of July' is a classical example of an individual with disability living in US. The white war-horse is heavily trying to get used to own disability, which is presented in the context of emasculation or sexual disability (Shakespeare 1996: 194). All attempts to have some sexual life just face women's jeers. But this disable man gets over the 'lack of masculine', and attains high social status and general acceptance. He returns his own activity, initiative, and control by participation in pacifist movement.

Healthcare Administration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Healthcare Administration - Research Paper Example In fact, large amount of medical research breakthroughs take place in Academic Health Centers. These consequently result in clinical benefits and philanthropy towards the patients. Let us look at some of the famous Academic Health Centers in the World. 1. The Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) is one of the foremost associations of Academic Health Centers. It is a nonprofit organization, and consists of allopathic and osteopathic medical school. The AAHC contributes variously to the education system of the different countries. AAHC is vital for generation of newer ideas, concepts and therapies. It is responsible for original centers of innovation and benefit mankind on a large scale. 2. The Biomedical Research Centre at Bethlem Hospital, London, has majorly paced the research facilities at the institute. They’ve sought some ‘personalized medicine’ that has been a medical breakthrough in psychological medical history. 3. Centre for Rural Health, South Africa, undertakes research activities that are pertaining to the regional ailments; it was started off way back in 1980’s. However, today it has spread to a large number of countries, due to the efforts of its academic health centre. Ans 2. Telemedicine is a largely popular form of clinical medicine; to make the process of medicine audio-visual and also convenient for many to use. Telemedicine is a process of two professionals discussing the possibilities of a case over a telephonic conference. Telemedicine is of great benefit to remote communities who have scarce resources of finding adequate medical help at the right time. In fact, telemedicine is now rapidly replacing many technologies like Doctor-on-Wheels, due to its immensely beneficial results that it has cropped up with. Telemedicine can provide for accurate diagnosis as well as accurate examinations of the various techniques of medicine on a patient in a very efficient manner. In many of the

Germany and the Gurmans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Germany and the Gurmans - Essay Example The thought of that period painted in me a negative perception towards Germany and the German people in general. However, my current perception is that of respect and understanding of how Germany has contributed significantly to some of the technological advancements we enjoy in the world today. The historical significance of Germany in shaping the politics of the world is also without doubt. A key theme in this perspective is that Germany has always been a primary player in the world politics and as a result a major contributor to the global affairs. Although I had known that Germany had significant influence in the course of things during the 1st and the 2nd world war, I had not known that the influence dated back centuries ago to great leaders such as Frederick the Great. Germany has also produced one of the best scientists that have contributed significantly to the field of medicine. For instance, scientists like Paul Elhrich and Robert Koch who contributed significantly to the scientific fields of medicine, microbiology and immunology. These are men who dedicated their lives for the noble course of humanity with the aim of improving better understanding of diseases. One wonders the condition of the world had there not existed such scientists. Germany is a country that strived to ensure that it was at the forefront of scientific inventions and therefore consolidating its position as one of the leading countries in the world. Such scientists had the whole world in perspective when conducting their experiments in order to find solutions not to the problems of Germany alone but to the problems of the whole world. In the field of psychology and sociology, Germany also produced one of the key contributors in these fields. The contributions of German sociologists and psychologists improved the understanding of mental diseases and human behaviors in the society, thereby setting the pace for contemporary sociologists and

Healthcare Administration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Healthcare Administration - Research Paper Example In fact, large amount of medical research breakthroughs take place in Academic Health Centers. These consequently result in clinical benefits and philanthropy towards the patients. Let us look at some of the famous Academic Health Centers in the World. 1. The Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) is one of the foremost associations of Academic Health Centers. It is a nonprofit organization, and consists of allopathic and osteopathic medical school. The AAHC contributes variously to the education system of the different countries. AAHC is vital for generation of newer ideas, concepts and therapies. It is responsible for original centers of innovation and benefit mankind on a large scale. 2. The Biomedical Research Centre at Bethlem Hospital, London, has majorly paced the research facilities at the institute. They’ve sought some ‘personalized medicine’ that has been a medical breakthrough in psychological medical history. 3. Centre for Rural Health, South Africa, undertakes research activities that are pertaining to the regional ailments; it was started off way back in 1980’s. However, today it has spread to a large number of countries, due to the efforts of its academic health centre. Ans 2. Telemedicine is a largely popular form of clinical medicine; to make the process of medicine audio-visual and also convenient for many to use. Telemedicine is a process of two professionals discussing the possibilities of a case over a telephonic conference. Telemedicine is of great benefit to remote communities who have scarce resources of finding adequate medical help at the right time. In fact, telemedicine is now rapidly replacing many technologies like Doctor-on-Wheels, due to its immensely beneficial results that it has cropped up with. Telemedicine can provide for accurate diagnosis as well as accurate examinations of the various techniques of medicine on a patient in a very efficient manner. In many of the

The Drawing of Nation State Boundaries in Rwanda Essay Example for Free

The Drawing of Nation State Boundaries in Rwanda Essay The drawing of Nation State boundaries in Sub-Saharan Africa didnt take tribes, religious or regional groups into account. This consequently led to the mistreatment of some groups by others, which eventually led to the majority of reasons causing civil war and strife. These drastic events stopped economic growth and perpetuated 3rd world poverty. The European powers didn’t start laying claim on Africa until the second half of the nineteenth century, when they nearly laid claim on the whole continent. Because competition was so aggressive amongst the European powers, a conference was held in Berlin in 1884 to divide up Africa. The major countries that participated were Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal. When the conference was in progress, a majority of Africa was still under traditional African rule. Eventually (after 1900) the colonial powers managed to gain control of all areas of Africa. In his article on colonialism in Rwanda, Troy Riemer states â€Å"A new kind of racism was brought to Rwanda upon the arrival of Europeans in the 20th century. Colonists assumed their own superiority and valued those physically and geographically close to themselves† (Riemer 2011). Before the European powers colonized Rwanda the elite group was the Tutsi cattle herders. The majority of the colony was made up of peasant farmers, known as the Hutu’s. In pre-colonial times, the division between Hutu and Tutsi was sometimes blurred. Some Hutu bought cattle and were accepted into the upper classes, while some Tutsis became poor peasants. Rwanda was first colonized and governed by Germany, but was later taken over and newly ruled by Belgium. Belgium was quick to discriminate between the Hutu’s and Tutsis. â€Å"In 1933 Belgian rulers introduced ethnic ID cards and favored the Tutsis. Later they quickly switched sides and effortlessly supported the Hutu majority† (Riemer 2011). â€Å"Vengeful Hutu elements murdered about 15,000 Tutsis between 1959 and 1962, and more than 100,000 Tutsis fled to neighbouring countries† (Jones 2002). This favoritism that before colonization was not really recognized or argued with was becoming an issue between the Hutus and Tutsis. Little did anyone know, this new since of entitlement brought about by the Belgian government would cause massive amount of turmoil, hatred, heartbreak, and war in the years to come. After the Tutsi king’s passing in 1959, Rwanda has gone through a series of heartbreaking civil wars that eventually lead up to the genocide in 1994. â€Å"According to Gerard Prunier, Because of the chaotic nature of the genocide and the events leading up to it, the total number of people killed has never been systematically assessed, but most experts believe the total was around 800,000 people. This includes about 750,000 Tutsis and approximately 50,000 politically moderate Hutus who did not support the genocide. Only about 130,000 Tutsis survived the massacres (Jones 2002). Rwanda today is still continuing to rebuild economically and heal as a whole, slowly but surely. It has taken this country years after the last genocide to even consider being called ‘back on their feet’. An article was written in 2010 by the New York Times on the genocide’s 16th anniversary, discussing Rwanda’s progress since all the violence. â€Å"This country has certainly come farther in the past 16 years than even the most optimistic observers would have predicted. All of this development is important to recognize because it has been the government’s express policy to deliver basic services and economic growth to its people in order to mitigate genocide ideology† (Ruxin 2010). â€Å"Five years ago, traveling anywhere in the country was bound to be a bumpy ride, if the way was even passable. Today, east-to-west and north-to-south, the road infrastructure is impressive and continues to expand. Five years ago, the country struggled to get tourists in for $375 permits to visit Rwanda’s mountain gorillas. Today, during high season, there are not enough $500 tickets to meet the demand. Five years ago, there were no supermarkets or ATMs, and the cheapest cell phones cost $50. Today there are multiple supermarkets, over a dozen international ATMs, and cell phones that cost $14 are plentiful† (Ruxin 2010). â€Å"Against this impressive backdrop, crushing poverty still affects about 40% of the population. Millions live on tiny plots of land scarcely capable of producing adequate food for families in which the average woman gives birth to six children. It’s this latter issue –raging population growth – that continues to perplex the policy and development wonks in Rwanda† (Ruxin 2010).

Business Essays Online Shopping Mall

Business Essays Online Shopping Mall Online Shopping Mall This report presents the feasibility study for developing the online shopping mall for UK retail outlets and customers. The idea was generated by looking at the staggering growth of the internet user and online shopping specially in UK with a record 12.8 billion pound online sale last year. This report analysis the need for online shopping mall as it provides a big opportunity to those who have less technical skills in developing the retail online sites for themselves and these hosting sites will help them do the online business with les administration for a fee only. The report is divided into nine sections starting from the explanation of what are online shopping mall and its importance in today’s competitive business world along with the emphasis on how technology helps business to grow. Types of technology available for developing online shopping mall are also discussed. For backend development MySQL 5.0 database is used. On front end JSP will be used to develop the script as it’s easy to learn as well as more versatile. The basic cost involved is for renting the space on ISP servers, the purchase of domain name, the registration with the search engines (directories) and the most important advertisement to generate traffic for the online shopping mall. In the end a detailed project plan on the basis of time and activities is explained in context of the feasibility of online shopping mall from data study till construction of the site and maintenance. Aims and Objectives Aims The aim of this study is to present a formal report and a power point presentation on the feasibility of developing the online shopping mall for UK customers and retailers. Objectives The objective of this feasibility report is to: Provide about the background, importance and growth of the online shopping mall in UK. Preparing a feasibility report by providing the information regarding site development, technology available and cost involved Prepare the project plan and Prepare a four minute power point presentation to explain the feasibility of online shopping mall. 1. Introduction 1.1 Concept of Online Shopping Mall The idea of online shopping mall originates from e-commerce. E commerce is in practice in most of the developed countries of the world such as USA, UK, and Europe etc where shopping concept is changing from physical purchase to virtual buying. This type of business is very popular among the retail outlets that are looking for a boost in their sale by offering customers new channels or mediums to make a purchase. This way not only the customer has more options but companies also enjoy an increase in their sale due to increased online outlet. Even after the immense success of e commerce there was a big group of business who either knew how to do e-commerce or they were unable to manage the administration of such technical field which required a lot of web knowledge. This generates a need of a place where these retail outlets can start their online business but without any hassle. Online shopping mall is basically the by product of e-commerce. The idea is to provide the easiest platform to these retail outlets that can do online business without any trouble or risk. It’s a site where any retail outlet can get registered and have a space and the rest of the administration will be done by the host of that online mall. Not only that but also the host will be the one who will take c are of all payment procedures. Online shopping mall provides a lot of benefits to the retail outlets on the site such as administrative, management of the site as well as invoicing of the business. Customer is benefited too. He has not only the variety but also ease to find what ever he is looking for at one place. The choices available to customer is many as products available on online shopping mall can range from within the product category (all Nike products) or an entirely different product type ( homecare, clothing, electronics etc.) from as many retailers possible . 1.2 Scope of Online Shopping Mall In UK Europe has a staggering 42 million user of internet and talking of Britain, 11 000 users are adding to the list annually. This gives an immense boost in the revenues generated by online activities on monthly basis. Among all the internet activity online shopping is not only generating the maximum revenues but also is growing at the fastest speed. It can be proved by the fact that almost 30% of all the sites are used for trading rather than attracting the advertisers for the means of business. By looking at this statistics and knowing that this will grow to another 30% within next few Years’ businesses are attracted towards internet to boost their sale with a relevant low cost, one of the best feature of online shopping. Moreover online shopping mall further reduces the cost and hassle for those retailers who have less technical skills to take the optimum advantage of the online business. According to the report of Ian Grant, as compare to Italy, Germany, France etc UK is the top most country in online shopping having a sale of approximately 12.8 billion pounds along with a record growth of 75% in online sale since 2005 till date 2. Building The Online Shopping Mall In general there are 4 basic steps which you have to follow to have an online shopping mall Get a company who will host your site Get yourself domain name for your online shopping mall. For a search engine you need to get directories. So Register with them Attract internet user through advertisement ( traffic generation) To maintain the sites you have to arrange the important tools required for order processing, invoicing and transaction 2.1 Background Research For Building An Online Shopping Site Before starting to build an online shopping mall we need to have clear idea of few things that will be needed once the site is complete. Domain name Website Hosting Secure Server Certificate Merchant Account Payment Transaction gateway. 2.1.1 Domain Name The domain name is that name by which will be recognized on the internet, to show our online appearance we need a domain name for our website, this name can be a of up to 67 characters in length and should be easy and meaningful to remember so that customer can remember it easily. The domain name is registered with a suffix, this suffix is a ‘.’ Extension and represents the nature of the website. Few common extensions are .com– used for commercial business website .net.– used for commercial network .org – used for organization. There are other extensions available as well these include, .biz, .edu, .tv etc. Choosing a domain name is a difficult task as here are around 128 Million domain names registered and that is the reason that’s why choosing a name that will represent out MALL will be a difficult task as most of the name are already taken. Therefore lots of brainstorming is required to select a name with following quality. It should be short Easy to memorize Should not be confusable. Not easy to misspell Should represent the MALL Considering these factor we can choose a domain name that will represent our website. 2.1.2 Website Hosting A web hosting company provides space and bandwidth on rent, once our site is developed we can put the content of the website on the allocated space on the hosting server, this transfer can be made from development site to hosting server using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software’s. Once website is uploaded and domain is directed to rented space. The site is up and running and whenever user enters the domain it is directed to this space. A web server is a powerful computer machine which is designed in such a way that it can bare the load of internet traffic accessing the website present on it. This server can be on any plat form either Linux or Windows but should be able to handle the load. The web hosting companies usually setup these servers in data centres; these data centres are responsible for making the backup and providing security of data. The key responsibility of data centre is to make sure that website is always present on the internet. A typical process of how the web server makes a bridge between the website visitor and the administrator of the website is shown in the diagram below (courtesy of eaysiteguid.com) The visitor enter the domain name of the mall in the web browser, the domain name is resolved on the domain name server (DNS) and the user browser connects to the web server which in return send the contents of the website to the visitors browser. Similarly the developer can connect to the web server to upload new contents and for management of website. 2.1.3 SSL Protection Secure Socket layer (SSL) is the technology that provides an encrypted link between your host site and the web server. An SSL is required as we want to provide safe environment to the customer as our website will be involved in credit card transaction, and there might be a chance of theft of information and customer personal information can be jeopardized. For our Shopping Mall we require SSL certificate to make our customer feel comfortable while they are giving there information to us, they need to be sure that there information will be kept private and only will be used for the transaction they are making, we are obligated to protect our customers. In the real mall there are guards to protect customers and shops from theft same as we need SSL as our mall guard. Another reason of implementing SSL is that there can be legal consequences as if some one’s information is compromised, then as we are not involved in theft but we can be the source that gives the way to let other people information accusable and that customer can get us in to trouble. So SSL can be our first line of defence. Therefore a SSL certificate is required for our eCommerce site as we may loose customers if we can’t protect there information. How SSL Protects In SSL the transfer of data from the user webpage to the web server is in encrypted form, the code is scramble in such a way that no one can use it outside, the encryption can be 128 bits or 256 bits depending on the complexity of encryption, mostly for online shopping site 128 bit encryption is used, the 256bit is usually used by banks. This certificate is issued by the SSL issuing vendor that provide certificate with a encryption key, this encryption key is put on the server that do the SSL encryption, the website host will install this certificate on the web server, once installed when a customer access the site, a padlock is shown on the bottom of the browser that tell that this site is secure, opening the padlock shows the certificate, which tell who’s this certificate belongs to. The cost of SSL is declined rapidly from 400 pounds to now it is between 20 to 60 Pounds per year, SSL can be purchase by different vendors like VERISIGN. There is a facility to get a shared SSL which is provided by the host. This SSL certificate is further cheaper but the drawback is that when a user or customer check the certificate the name of the host appears on the certificate instead of the merchant that can cause confusion on user mind as the information will not match with the site owner. So it’s best to have our own SSL certificate, after getting the certificate we can install the certificate on the root directory of our web server. 2.1.4 Merchant Account A merchant account is an account which is provided by banks or finical institution. This type of bank account allows any e-commerce business to accept credit cards online, it is used by customers to deposit the money electronically that is through credit cards, the process where the money is transferred through credit card is called Card Not Present (CNP) merchant account and is needed when the customer don’t send the money in physical form during the transaction. Merchant account can be opened by any bank which gives this facility to the merchant to accept transaction electronically. To open a merchant account negotiation is done with the bank or institution over the different charges, these charges involved Up Front Application Fees: This is the fees that the provider charges for handling the transitions, as the number of merchant account provides are increasing and competition is building up, most of the providers waive this fee off. Statement fee: This is the fix amount fee that the merchant have to pay for his account, this is normally around 10 to 15 pounds per month, and this fee is also called on going fixed fee. Discount rate: This is the sales commission charge by the merchant account provider on each transaction; it is normally between 2 to 4 percent of the sales. Fixed Transaction Fee: This is the fixed transaction fee for each sale, unlike the discount rate this fee is a fixed amount and not the percentage, this fee is usually 0.05 to 0.01 pounds per sale. Termination Fee: This fee is charged if the account is closed before the contract period is ended. Chargeback Fees: This fee is charges if a customer wants a refund and want to withdraw there money then the merchant account provider will charge a fee usually between 5 to 10 pounds on each withdrawal. A merchant account acts as a go between your gateway (Credit card processor) and your business account, the money comes to this account and passes to your business account and if there are chargeback or user cancel the transaction money is takes from you business count and from merchant account gets out. 2.1.5 Payment Method The payment method on an online shopping site the process is almost same as the physical shopping site, like in shops peoples comes select items or products and pay cash on the counter, in online shopping site customer visit the website select item and put in the basket ( THE CART) and finally checkout using credit card. Once customer is checkout his credit card is needed to be verified, this is checking whether credit card is valid and that there is money in the account and also that there is no fraud case. The checking of the credit card can be done by using a payment processing method; there are two types of payment processing methods Payment Processor Payment Gateways Payment Gateway This method involves checking credit card information in real time as the transaction is taking place, The gateway service is provided by different companies like LinkPoint, Authorize Net etc. The gateway processor verifies the credit card information in real time and completes the whole process (acceptation or rejection) of payment within second and traction results are displayed to customers. The process works like this. After customer has decided the item he wants to purchase he clicks the BUY button on the webpage. Once the customer is finish with shopping, he clicks on the checkout button which takes the customer to a secure form where his personal information is entered including the credit card information. The credit card information is send to the payment gateway. The gateway processor sends the transaction data to merchant’s bank, which then passes the information to Credit card interchange. The credit card interchange then sends the data to credit card issuer for verification. The issuer then verifies the data and sends the result to credit card exchange whether the information is valid or not. The credit card exchange then sends the acceptance or denial information to merchant’s bank processor. The transaction results send by the merchants bank processor are passed to payment gateway. The payment gate way then send the denial or acceptance information to the merchant who then display the confirmation or rejection of purchase on the webpage. If transaction is successful the merchant account is debited and customers is credited (this process is done in real time). The whole process is depicted in the figure below Advantages This method provides professional solution as all the transaction is done in real time. Transaction result can be displayed on the webpage that is acceptance or denial The process is invisible to the customer. The funds are directly deposited in the merchant’s bank account. And merchant don’t have to worry about fund deposition as the whole process is automatic. This is because the fraud is detected before the product is shipped. Some service provider provide fraud protection as well, this protects the merchant and the actual card holder to become the victim of fraud. Transaction fee and service charges are less then of payment processor. Disadvantages This mode of payment processing required a merchant account Cost of setup is high then payment processor. Payment Processor This method is also called delayed response as the transaction is not completed in real time. When the user is ready to checkout he is redirected to payment processor service provider, such as PayPal, Verisign PayFlow link etc and these providers then handles the transaction for the merchants. The customer is informed about the completion of transaction once he is finish checkout but in actual the process is of verification is started at this time. The credit card is processed and transaction approval or decline results are informed to the merchant who is then responsible to inform the customer about the transaction approval or rejection thought email. The process works like this: After customer has decided the item he wants to purchase he clicks the BUY button on the webpage. Once the customer is finish with shopping, he click on the checkout button which takes the customer to a secure form on a third party website where his personal information is taken, once user finish checkout he is shown transaction is complete The user part is now done, the user thinks that transaction is complete but in actual the information is send to payment processor that then communicates with the banks to authorize the credit card. This process can take minutes or up to a days If transaction is denied the merchant are notified through an email, if transaction is successful the cash is deposited to merchants account. Other wise merchant has to inform the customer that the transaction is denied. Advantages No merchant account is required as third party processor will handle the transaction and will deposit the money to your account Cost less to setup then process gateways. Transaction fee and process charges are less then process gateways. Disadvantages Delay in transaction process to complete Credit card is checked for authorization after the user is informed that transaction is complete. Customers are redirected to third party website such as PAYPAL etc for checkout process and to finish transaction, this losses the uniqueness of branding as customers sees that he is being redirected and this causes the flow to break. Customers are informed later whether the transaction is accepted or denied, and if denied then customer can get irritated. 3. Initial Requirement 3.1 The Users The concept of this project is to design a website mall which can serve two types of customers one will be the shop owners who would like to open a shop in our virtual mall and second will the customers who will purchase item from those shops. An Administrator will be the one who will administer the mall, the shop owners and the customers. Therefore our design should coupe up there type of users, this include the ADMINISTRATOR who will be looking before the whole site, The SHOP owner who will be managing a shop in the Mall, and the CUSTOMER who will be purchasing the products. 3.1.1 Administrator Administrator will be user who will have full access to the MALL, he can be said as a super user, all the request to open a shop will be send to the administrator and then admin will decide weather to accept the request or reject it Admin will also responsible for managing the categories or subcategories of shops, he can add remove or update them as required without affecting the shop owners. Admin will also look after feedback sent and can reply to them or remove them. The Use case diagram below show what actions admin can perform in the system. 3.1.2 Shop Owner If a user want to open the shop in the mall, he will fill in the form and send it to administrator, If his request is approved by the administrator and is granted space in the mall he will become the shop owner, The responsibilities of shop owner is to manage the shop, he can add remove categories, design a catalogue and can remove, add or update item in the catalogue. He can also generate several reports regarding the sales and inventory that will keep him up to date f the business. A shop owner can remove the shop anytime he wants. The Use case diagram below shows what action shop owner can perform on the system. 3.1.3 Mall Customer Mall customers will be the users who will purchase products from the mall; they can browse the mall search shops, products within different shops and can compare prices. After they have decided what they want to buy, they can add the items to the shopping cart and can checkout at any stage during there stay on the virtual mall, when checking out customer can login and all this information will be updated in the checkout form. A customer can login any time to view his order status or he can change his personal details like shipping address and other information. The Use case diagram below shows what action mall customer can perform on the system. 3.2 Mall Interface An initial study was done on what interface will be created for the Mall, these interface includes. 3.2.1 Admin Interface ADMINISTRATOR ADMIN:This interface will only be available to administrator and let user administer the site from accepting shop request to generating reports and modifying site contents. 3.2.2 Shop Owner Interface CATALOGUE CREATOR: A catalogue creator interface will be available to shop owners where shop owners can add, remove or update items by category. These items will be added to the catalogue accessible by the customers. SHOP OWNER ADMIN: This page will be available only to shop owner from there he can perform the administration of this shop, this include link to catalogue creator, report generator and information updater. 3.2.3 Customer Interface CATALOGUE: For every shop a catalogue will be created from where customer can find item information and price. PRODUCT SEARCH: A search page will be build where customer can search for products this page will fetch the results from the data base and display them on the search page. SHOP SEARCH: This feature will allow customers to search for shops by categories SHOPPING BASKET: A shopping basket will be created which will be linked with the BUY button and when a customer hits the buy button the selected item will be added to the basked, the customer can view this basket to update or remove items. CHECKOUT FORM: A form will be created that will take customer information and send it to processor gateway for verification and save the transaction data in the database. 3.2.4 Miscellaneous LOGIN INTERFACE: A login interface will be provided where administrator, shop owner and customers (optional) can login; the user will be directed to the page his user type belongs to. REGISTRATION PAGE: This page will let user to register with the site either as a customer or shop owner. 4. Technology Available for Development Now day’s different technologies are available for developing software and website. Few of them are open source and do no add cost in development. For building our website we require to choose technology for Backend and Front end development. 4.1 Backend Backend is where the Website data will be stored, this data can be of the customer, shop owner or can be site contents. For an ecommerce application databases are the foundation, all the information comes from the database and all the information will go to the data base. There are several databases technologies available like MSACCESS, MSSQL and MYSQL. MSACCESS is Microsoft database that can run on windows based servers. It is used for small scale ecommerce website, it is easy to develop database using MSACCES for developing low traffic site. It is a file based database and the problem with file based database is that if a data base crash all the data is lost. MS SQL SERVER is also Microsoft based database server which has wide support, it has powerful enhanced feature like stored procedure. It is very fast and stable. A free Express developer edition is available to create local database for development and testing. MYSQL SERVER is an open source database, it also has extremely huge support community, the version 5 has enhanced feature that can be used to create enterprise level databases. It is super fast and stable as compare to other databases. MYSQL is also multi platform so that it can be deployed on any web server running on either windows or Linux. It is important that data base should be build correctly as application will run on top of it and after launch of website if a serious flaw is found then it’s hard to fix the problem as data base structure has to be changes that can shake the foundation of the application. So it’s necessary that through time should be spend in designing of database. Few factors were conceders while choosing the database. These factors involve: Stability: The database should be stable and should not crash as this can make the site down which can cause potential loos to business. Scalability: data base should be scalable to handle large amount of data and can be extended if necessary once build. Speed: Speed is once of the important factor, the database should be able to retrieve information on fast rate so that customers or users don’t have to wait for the data to be fetched; the data based should be able to optimize queries. Referential integrity: This concept involves that data base should be developed in such way that inconsistent data should not be saved in tables. 4.2 Frontend Front end is what the user will see on the webpage, this user can be a customer or the Mall administrator or shop owner. The front ends code brings the information back from the backend and display to the user or take the information from the user and send it to back end for processing or storage. We require a scripting language that can be used to develop font end. There are different scripting languages available for writing server side scripts like ASP, JSP and PHP etc. ASP: Active Server pages ASP is Microsoft developed scripting language used to create dynamic WebPages, it is used by many web hosting companies and lots of material and books are available, the disadvantage of using ASP is that the code can be writing by using only VBScripts as Microsoft bounds that, and writing code in VBScripts has its own limitation. JSP: Java Server pages is another technology of creating dynamic WebPages, it is based on JAVA programming language to design server side code. The JSP code is incorporated in HTML files by using special tags to write dynamic contents. The JSP source code is executed from the server on JSP Servelet Engine; this Engine then generates the HTML and sends the output to client browser. The advantage of using JSP over ASP is that ASP is based on Microsoft .NET architecture and can only run on Microsoft platforms where as JSP is Cross platform and can be run on any platform like Linux and windows. Another advantage of Using JSP is that beside its Object oriented, it can be used with different technologies like, Extended java beans (EJB), SERVALETS and AJAX to make site more interactive. PHP: PHP is one of the widely used server side scripting language, by using PHP dynamic websites can be created which provide interaction of user with the website. PHP is cross platform language that is PHP scripted running from Linux web server can be executed on windows machine and vice versa. The language is open source and is available without any cost, beside open source it has huge development community with can be contacted for help if required. The language is fast, stable and secure. 5. Selected Technology 5.1 Backend Backed will be developed using MySQL 5.0. The reason for using MySQL is that it is open source and will not add cost in development, beside that it have extremely wide support and a huge developer community from where great help can be obtain. Other reason is that it is expected that the site will have heavy traffic and fast stable and secure database server is required and MSSQL is the only open source database that can be relied upon. The 5.0 version of MySQL also includes the stored procedure call, a stored procedure call can save the query data that is frequently used so that that data does not need to be fetch from table again and again, and it’s a sort of caching. Beside that MySQl has built in security feature and as MySQl database is not a file that’s why it can’t be copied from the server, MySQL is also multi platform and can be deployed on any server. 5.2 Front End JSP will be used to develop the front end scripts as we have previous background of JAVA and JSP is based on java and is easier to learn and to develop and it is more versatile and different technologies will be used like SERVALETS and AJAX to make the shopping experience more interactive and as AJAX function can be executed on user browser therefore carefully writing the function can decrease the bandwidth usage hence making the website much fast. 6. Cost Involved Building and making the ecommerce site functional require cost, this involves the cost of software’s that will be need to d