Talking Styles

Ashley Broadway COM 200 Instructor Lindsay Hallead April 8, 2013 Talking Styles I feel the score that was given from the LSM was accurate. I used a portion of the text messages between me and my husband to complete the test. Before the test I felt we had a great connection when we communicate. We can communicate verbally and non-verbally very well. We have had great communication since the beginning and over the few years we have been together our communication has grown. Communication I don’t feel that it can be measured because it changes all the time.Communication is based upon a lot of things. It can reflect your mood and the atmosphere that you are in at the time. Your LSM score is 0. 79 Compared to other IMs that we have analyzed, your LSM score is slightly below average to give you an idea, most LSM scores for IMs range between . 75 and . 95, with an average around . 84. The more that the two people are paying attention to each other in their interaction, the higher the LSM. LSM is higher in ongoing conversations such as IMs, telephone calls, or face-to-face conversations.LSM is lower in emails, letters, or other less direct interactions. The more similar the topic and the mindset of the two authors, the more the LSM score should be similar. Do not take this feedback about LSM too seriously. It is still in the experimental phase. Several factors can lead to LSM scores that are too low. Some problems include: †¢Too few words by one or both authors †¢Very different genres of writing between the two people †¢An extreme number of misspellings or IM shortcuts (words such as â€Å"2† for â€Å"to† or â€Å"b4† for â€Å"before†).If you think this was a problem, correct these problems and see if your numbers change. Some of the best way to interpret your own feedback is to run different LSM scores with IMs or emails to and from other friends. Or track LSM scores with the same person over time. Once you start com paring your numbers, you can get a better sense of your average LSM numbers. (http://www. utpsyc. org/synch/feedback. php) I do not believe that language style matching is a comprehensive way to predict the quality of interpersonal relationships.Interpersonal relationships are more on the inside that what the language style matching can measure. Interpersonal relationships also change like communication. You may grow closer to the person you have an interpersonal relationship with or end up hating the person you have an interpersonal relationship with. There are many things that can happen to change an interpersonal relationship. I think the article â€Å"Shared Talking Styles Herald New and Lasting Romance† is somewhat true and somewhat false. There are a lot of things in this article that I have a hard time believing are true.I think a test about communication isn’t always accurate because of the circumstances that could affect the test. â€Å"Unconscious verbal coo rdination of this sort, dubbed language-style matching by the researchers, signifies not how much two people like each other but how much each is paying attention to what the other says, Ireland and her colleagues propose in an upcoming Psychological Science. †(Bower, B. 2010) I can see the truth in this statement because giving un-divided attention when communicating is very important.If someone isn’t really paying attention to the other person talking then the conversation is more so one sided. It is also very disrespectful. â€Å"A second experiment found that among 86 young-adult couples in committed relationships, those who used similar writing styles during 10 days of instant-messaging chats with each other were particularly likely to stay together over the next three months. †(Bower, B. 2010) This is one of the parts of the article that I find a little fishy.It is speed dating so that tells me that there is only about ten minutes of conversation going on a nd I just don’t see how any test can show how long a relationship will last. I believe that a relationship lasts because the people in it want it to last so therefore they work for it to last. Reference Bower, B. (2010, Shared talking styles herald new and lasting romance. U. S. News & World Report, , 1. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/821694533? accountid=32521 Language Style Matching score http://www. utpsyc. org/synch/feedback. php

Chile’s economy Essay

According to the CIA world fact book, Chile is located in the southern part of South America and it borders the South Pacific Ocean. It is endowed with natural resources like copper, iron ore, timber as well as precious metals. A brief history of Chile’s people in terms of their literacy levels and demographics is vital in as far as understanding any economy is concerned. Chile’s population as at July 2008 stood at 16 454 143 with the highest proportion in terms of age structure being from the 15-64 years category, the dependent age group 0-14 account for 23. 6% and those aged 65 and above account for 8. 8%. This is a plus to her economic growth as a large proportion is comprised of energetic or productive people. The population growth rate according to CIA estimates was 0. 905% while the death rate and birth rate were 14. 82 birth/1000 and 5. 77 deaths/1000 population respectively. (CIA, 2008). Chile records a very high literacy level at 95. 7% for the total population with makes recording a slightly higher rate by 0. 2% CIA further noted that Chile’s government spent approximately 3. 2% of the country’s GDP on education in 2006. This paper focuses on Chile’s economy; of much importance will be the economic reforms that took place, as well as trade and its effects on her economic progress. In his distinguished book ‘Economic reforms in Chile’, Ricardo noted that since her independence Chile remained stable politically as well as economically thus being the envied state in the Latin America. Chile survived the constant extent shocks or forces beyond her control and modernized her institutions while ensuring increased economic progress. Inequalities in incomes were visible as early as 1970’s as the emerging middle class that lived in the urban areas grew. (Ffrench-Davis R, 2002). The inequalities in income distribution precipitated the increased political developments to rectify the situation to an extent that the political development did not match the economic progress. Effros in ‘Current Legal Issues Affecting Central Banks’ noted that Chile’s economic reforms started as early as the 1970s and before this period the state owned companies had a significant role in the countries economic growth. (Effros R, 1995). Before the World War 1 erupted Chile was recording a positive and diversified economic growth and the economic elite influenced the consumption trends. The growth was blamed on trade where exports were quite significant and so were the spill over effects on the economy. Before the direct depression hit Chile’s economy was among the most developed within the Latin America region in terms of per capita income and social transformation. Some people argue that Chile was among the most adversely hit countries by the great depression as when the thriving trade declined her terms of trade remained low up to the 1960’s. (Ffrench-Davis R, 2002). An industrial expansion in the early 50’s revived the country’s economic growth. The adverse effects of the Great depression especially on the trade sector were minimized by the economic policies put in place by the government. During the era of President Alessandri Palma a conservatist, fiscal measures as well as trade controls were put in place to counter the effects of a recession. There was need to develop new industries especially on the critical sectors like electric power and fuel as well as the human capital. During this period there was a general consensus that the state would effectively ensure that the situation was rectified. Problems experienced during this time included the stagnation of the agricultural sector and the unbalanced emphasis on imports substitution was to blame for the prevailing balance of payment. In the 1950’s there was a significant inflation rate precipitating the need for economic reforms. The Carlos Ibanez, government lost its popularity due to the prevailing economic conditions that people protested in the streets. (Ffrench-Davis R, 2002).

Rhetorical Analysis “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr

Ever imagined a world without Google? Have you ever asked yourself how our grandparents managed studies without Google? How did they go about reading the long the long texts letter by letter without the option of skimming through them? Were there other reading techniques that were almost equivalent to Google in efficiency and speed that have since become extinct and that we might run to should we wake up one day and realize that Google was just but a dream in our long sleep that was too good to be true? Will we manage to pin down the two- sentenced killer point in a journal with a thousand pages. How I wish I could shout ‘YES' but am afraid those brains are almost extinct in the world we live in. Nicholas Carr narrates his disappointment in Google in his article,† Is Google Making Us Stupid?† According to him, our minds have evolved to quick and easy skimming in search of information. He talks of how students used to read long texts without skimming. He mentions how one would concentrate and keep focus for long hours with their minds totally lost in the reading, unlike today. Carr recalls how he used to easily immerse himself in books and lengthy articles and would spend hours going through them with his mind caught up in the long prose and would or narratives. He compares this to his current state of mind where his concentration drifts away after just the first few pages of the prose before he starts considering to switch to other duties most of which would come second in his priority list back in the old days.His love for long reading hours has turned into torture to him. He compares the two reading habits and concludes that his way of thinking has changed over the years with reading especially through long stretches of prose moving down his priority list. To show that he is not the only one undergoing the reading evolution, he brings out other writers and bloggers including Scott Karp who share in his ordeal and from all of them its evident that the human mind and the use of the internet are correlated in that the functionality of the human mind can be transformed thus losing some features and gaining new ones when exposed to different environments, e.g. the internet for longer hours. The internet has made them all prefer to go for the easier option of skimming through the reading materials topics and parts of the body instead of trying to focus and concentrate on the whole content to get the information in details as it used to be. Most readers thus end up reading less. Carr explains the findings of research and experiments done on the human brain and the use of the Internet. He describes how the connections in the neurone system of the brain can be manipulated from its initial form to a completely new form. The conclusions are that when an individual uses the Internet for long, his/her neurocircuits can be manipulated and reconnected thus reducing their capacity to read like before, i.e. by contemplating and concentrating for long hours, which practically makes us stupid. In one of the research, the findings by the British Library, a team of UK educational consortium and university college London Scholars, the evidence as experienced by Nicholas Carr, writers and bloggers Scott Karp included, it proven that persons' capacity to read for long hours, contemplating and concentrating has been by far by the use of internet. They opt to skim through texts and headlines, which are unlike their traditional reading style where they would focus, concentrate and read for long hours deeply glued on the long proses going through word after word. In the article, he describes how the brain can switch forms from the old connections to a completely new form that's losing its original form. Nicholas says that he has had a feeling of someone or something reconfiguring his brain and transforming it into something else that he cant literally describe. He feels that due to long exposure to a different environment, his brain has been disconnected from its older connections and that through the Internet his brain is being corrupted in that he is now seeing things very differently. The Internet works in such a manner that it generates more profits form the user. As we surf, we tend to visit different sites that mostly create Internet traffic. In some instances, advertisement links normally pop-up while surfing. These sites are normally intended to market some businesses, and they act as distractors that encourage slow reading. When the mind is programmed to slow destructions, we end up not surfing for the intended issues. For instance, when a person uses the Internet to perform given research, he or she may end up with poor findings due to the distraction of the mind. Therefore, Internet users must learn how to evade the advertisement sites in a bid to maximize on the limited time. Nicholas Carr asserts that a majority of the advertisements have a financial obligation of collecting our data as we visit the business links. In this light, they normally reap heavily the more we click on the unwanted sites. Human beings have become highly dependent on the Internet to the extent that they browse even the obvious things. For instance, a person may even decide to surf for the reasons as to why children must obey their parents. This is a subject that is common to every person and should come naturally instead of browsing to get more information. The Internet indeed makes up stupid since most of the people spend much time thus reducing the concentration of the mind. The mind is then triggered in such a way that it will solely depend on the Intern even when serving for the obvious issues. In summary, I think that people need to use Google when it is only necessary and start doing traditional research. This aspect will indeed result in the development of sharp minds that can also become innovative.

Holistic Nutrition Mini Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Holistic Nutrition Mini Essays - Essay Example They match particular molecules with each other in order to produce desired reactions in the body. However, these enzymes cannot work without co-factors. This is where minerals come in. â€Å"Unless an enzyme is accompanied by its co-factor/mineral, or a substitute co-factor/mineral, it will simply sit around doing nothing† (Kennedy, 2009). Copper serves as a co-factor for different enzymes in the body. It is vital in hemoglobin synthesis in order to convert tyrosine into melanin, which, in turn protects the skin from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is also important in the metabolism of Vitamin C, and consequently helps in maintaining the elasticity of the body’s ligaments and tendons. Zinc is also a co-factor for different enzymes in our body. â€Å"Zinc assists the various enzymes that metabolize carbohydrates, alcohol, and fatty acids† (Cichoke, 2000). They also work with enzymes that metabolize proteins and dispose of free radicals in the body. These various co-factor activities make zinc a very effective anti-oxidant. Iodine is a co-factor in enzymes which help produce the thyroid hormone thyroxine. â€Å"Iodine is necessary for thyroxin, and thyroxin is responsible for maintaining a normal metabolic rate in all the cells of the body† (Kennedy, 2009). The minerals mentioned above, are just some of the co-factor minerals essential for the healthy functioning of our body. Minerals act as catalysts, as spurs to the existing enzymes in our body in order to eventually produce the desired effect into our system. Minerals can potentially be helpful and harmful to our body. As with any nutrient ingested into our body, too much minerals can be toxic to our system. One such mineral is manganese. Manganese toxicity usually results to multiple neurologic problems. It is even more dangerous when inhaled because it immediately goes to the brain without being metabolized by the liver. In some instances, it can result to permanent neurologic

India and the big Retailers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

India and the big Retailers - Essay Example Introduction: After the agricultural industry, retailing is the largest private and employing industry in India. This sector has a major contribution in India’s economy that is 10% of GDP and 6-7% of employment is derived from this sector. Much reorganization is seen in this sector in the past decade from small unorganized family owned retailers developed to organized retailing mainly by liberalization of the economy, expansion in consumerism, investment in retail infrastructure, entrance of many foreign retailers through cash and carry, franchising, local manufacturing, test marketing etc. India has been seen as a very attractive destination for the flow of FDIs and many foreign companies are willing to benefit from the advantages India has to offer. (MUKHERJEE & PATEL. 2005) On the other hand, resistance and protest against the entrance of the FDIs in retailing in India have been seen by the local trading associations and other stakeholders. Due to entrance of foreign compet ition in the retail market local trade is affected too and it has an effect on the employment, prices, technology, and efficiencies etc in Indian economy and market which have been the topic of debate recently. (MUKHERJEE & PATEL. 2005; GURUSWAM, SHARMA, MOHANTY, & KORAH. ... These super markets are usually situated main markets, malls and localities and due to economies of scale achieved in the purchasing and logistics, they offer highly competitive prices to the customers. The key local players in this segment in India are Nilgiris, FoodWorld, Big Baazar, and Subhiksha, these are comparatively smaller in sizes as compared to international super markets covering around an area of 3,000 to 4,000 sq. feet which is not even the half of what international super markets offer. (MUKHERJEE & PATEL. 2005; HOLLENSEN. 2011) Most of the retail stores internationally have reached at saturation points which has made them look towards the emerging markets like India, many of them has entered and many plans the expansion. Though after liberalization it isn’t easy for the international chains to enter Indian economy because foreign retailers are restricted to open single brand store with 51% ownership and to operate as a wholesaler they have to operate as 100%. T he first one to enter Indian market was Metro Group of Germany which established with a cash and carry format in 2003. Other big names Wal-Mart of USA and Tesco from UK also followed with their wholesale retail division. Apart from these giant wholesale retail companies other big names in retail like Nike, ZARA and Adidas established themselves in the Indian market. (MORSCHETT ET AL.2011; PLUNKETT.2008) Growth in the Retail Industry: In the past few years immense growth is seen in the retail sector due to liberalization in the 1990s when reduction in custom duties and a shift from quota to tariff based system. Due to the removal of barriers for entrance in the market, many multinationals entered India. Because of the increase in

Professional skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Professional skills - Essay Example School does not prepare you for these challenges out in the real world. One of the challenges relates to job decisions I had to make. The central challenge was to locate a job, which took me a long time. I sent many applications with no response. Here is an evidence of one application I sent with no response. Students wonder why they have to think about their career already or their future for that matter. It probably still seems too far away in the presence of more irresistible subjects such as final exams and housing lottery. On the contrary, students tend not to think of knowing exactly what to do after college. Instead, they prioritize college life, with primary aim of succeeding in the respective courses. However, if you imagine yourself in a certain career at that moment, it would remain an excellent opportunity to start making dreams a reality. In addition, even if you are not sure of what you want to do, it is still helpful to maintain focus. In fact, it is even more indispensable to maintain focus because of the many decisions that waits in the future. Moreover, It is would be imperious to not change your major course hastily while in college. Rather, an individual ought to remain vigilant and mindful while critically analyzing the available success opportunities. Possible careers now may also help you make other decisions while in college, including what activities to participate in and which courses to study. In College, an individual gets the exposure to many different opportunities and ideas within a single place. Moreover, looking ahead of time can also serve as a powerful motivator. Students who have even a vague sense of direction tend to do better than those who really do not know why they are in college. As a contemporary college student, you have many resources at your disposal, from the library to the career services office. You also have the internet, which can provide a wealth

Governmental Program Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Governmental Program - Research Paper Example Part B also called medical Insurance helps cover doctors’ and other health care providers, services, outpatient care and home health care. It also covers preventive services. Here most people pay a standard Medicare part B Premium. Medicare part C also known as Medicare advantage offers health plan options run by Medicare –approved private insurance companies. Part D also called Medicare prescription drug coverage helps cover the cost of prescription drugs. It also helps in lowering the cost of prescription drugs and shield against higher cost (CMS, 2011). Financial Compliance Medicare spending is a large component of the federal budget and national health spending, in 2006 the Medicare benefit payments totaled $374 billion, in 2007 Medicare spending accounted for 12% of the federal budget and the same year spending on Medicare benefits was 20% of the nation’s total health care sending (Kaiser, 2007). Medicare is financed majorly by payroll tax revenues, general revenues and premiums paid by beneficiaries. Part A is financed by a dedicated tax of 2.9% of earnings paid by employers and their employees. Part B is financed through a general revenue and premiums paid by beneficiaries. ... its part has ensured that they comply with all the laws put in place to ensure that the money generated from revenue streams is spent on the right services (Piper, 2011). In order to prevent fraud, wastage and abuse in Medicare the department of Human and Health services has instituted the office of the Inspector general and another department that works jointly with the HHS called the Fraud Prevention and enforcement team (HEAT). The two offer compliance training programs such as seminars, training materials and webcasts (Piper, 2011). To ensure that there is compliance another program was begun called the Senior Medicare Patrol program which aims at educating the older adults on Medicare benefits how to prevent detect and report health care fraud. The program recruits volunteers nationwide in the effort to empower older adults to protect themselves from fraud. The programs initiatives are funded by the US administration on Aging (HHS & DOJ, 2011). This program together with the HEA T task force has ensured that they reduce false billings that. This year alone it was able to charge 91 defendants for participating in Medicare fraud schemes that involved approximately $295 million in false billings. Although Medicare as a government agency has complied with all the laws pertaining to financial compliance and used the money they have been allocated wisely, there exist insurance agencies who work on behalf of the Agency that take part in fraud schemes in order to taint the name of the Agency. False billings are a common phenomenon and this has made Medicare to look into ways of ensuring that they stop this kind of fraud. Otherwise all departments have complied with the law (HHS & DOJ, 2011). Economy and efficiency Medicare is considered more economical and efficient in

Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Investment - Essay Example Investment A). The discount rate is the interest rate that is used in the determination of the present value of all the future cash flows. It can be taken as the interest rates that the banks obtain for their lending from the federal bank or the rate at which banks charge other banks for overnight borrowings. The discount rate is determined by several factors. First is the general economic conditions i.e. the discount rate will increase during periods in which the inflation rates are high or when the foreign exchange rates are volatile (Bierman & Smidt, 2004). The second factor that influences this rate is the marketability of a firm’s security. Firms whose securities are on high demand will experience a decline in their discount rates. b) Product 1 rate of return The total dividend in a year= 1.5*4=6 Year 1 rate of return= 1+discount/nominal price*100 =1+6/100*100%=7% Year 2-4 rater of return= 6/100*100%=6% Year 5 rate of return= 6+6.4/100*100%=12.4% Average rate of return= ((7+6+6+6+12.4)%)/(5 Years) =7.48% Product 2 rate of return= nominal interest rate =6% Product 3 rate of return Year 1 rate of return=(7-2(premium))/100*100%= 5% Rear 2 and 3 return= nominal rate = 7% Product rate of return= ((5+7+7))/3=6.33% Product 1 looks more attractive because it has the highest rate of return compared to product 2 and 3.

Defining the Good Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Defining the Good Life - Essay Example Wealth, health, a life without sorrow and pain are some of what seem to give people satisfaction, one that is said to be a good life. Perhaps it is. For the Greeks, a good life is one that shows happiness. It is then a matter of getting the most of what one has. For instance, a person who is lacking in wealth, according to the definition of the Greeks, can still have a good life depending on how he lives his life. That certain individual can either live in misery which is the extreme opposite of a good life or live so that he would make his life worthwhile and productive, a life that is flourishing. Human flourishing is a wonderful parallelism of the Greeks to a good life because it is perhaps the most accurate or closest accurate definition. Growing well is indeed one of the measures that show how a life is well-lived. It is not just a matter of living in luxury but it is also how a person lives to acquire a luxurious life, having the virtues a good life brings. This means that, in the case of wealthy people, they should not just enjoy what they have but strive to maintain and grow their wealth. However during the process, they should also maintain ethical attributes to keep them proud and satisfied with their achievements. When a person progresses or gains more wealth through illegal means or by using and abusing other people; that individual will definitely feel ashamed of himself. In fact, people who prosper in such a manner always live in fear of government authorities or their rivals and the people they have hurt. They may live in luxury, have money to burn but they do not have a good life because of the absence of the virtues they should possess. As the famous Socrates said, â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living for† (facultyfiles.frostburg.edu). Indeed, when an individual does not examine himself, he tends to commit mistakes and repeats them time and again. Obviously, a life full of mistakes and without virtues is miserable and undesirabl e. It is not a good life. Being a philosopher, Socrates was actually pointing out to the critical examination of things, events and ideas, the contemplation, self-examination and open-minded wondering (facultyfiles.frostburg.edu) that lead to finding the reasons for everything. A good life is a life of reasonable reasons. Reasons abound but if they are well thought, they make sense and therefore show the energy put into it. However, when reasons are shallow, they often look and sound ridiculous, exposing the life of the person that is not worth living. In relation to the aforementioned discussion on having virtues, it is acquired by having a well-examined life. One who thinks about himself and knows his strengths and weaknesses would definitely be able to build up the strengths and work on his weaknesses in order for him to become a better person. For instance, when a person knows that he has talents in arts, he can do something to develop his gift and become skillful and successful regardless of his situations. A person who knows he is gifted but does nothing to improve it spends no time contemplating about what a privilege he has, has a life not worth living. Self-examination in itself is a virtue and indulging in it develops more virtues in an individual. For example, a man who examines himself develops honesty. It would be futile to examine one’s self and deny what he sees because this will cause a person to lose his virtues instead of gaining them. However, if a man scrutinizes himself and recognizes and accepts his weaknesses and faults, positive changes follow which is the development of more virtues that show what a real good life

Company analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company analysis - Essay Example For instance, McDonalds engages in a serious training program for its managers. The training program is referred to as Hamburger University where professionalism is the base of its success. The McDonalds plan to win encompasses a framework for its global business. Through its strategic focus of the elements of people, product, place, price and promotion, the company has been able to capture the largest number of customers in the fast food industry. This has been in line with combination of financial discipline that has made it possible for the organisation to develop and maintain competitive advantage. For there to be success in any business, Yuece (5) argued that there is a need to have innovative ideas that enable a company to develop the existing products and services including introducing new products for the customers. This goes in line with the continued market research especially on customers’ needs and preferences. With this in mind, McDonalds has been able to able to design online services where customers are able to order online. This creates efficiency and reduction of time wastage. However, the company has been experiencing bad image in relation to unhealthy food habits encouraged by the consumption of fast foods that have been linked to obesity and other bad eating habit complications. This has led to the company being involved in several lawsuits and other legal cases. For instance, many cases have been brought forth in relation to trade mark issue. In addition, due to increased competition, McDonalds has faced stiff competition from its competitors. This has been attributed to what McKean (4) termed as rationality of consumers. This is the situation where customers become rational in consumption depending with the variety of choices that go in line with their needs and preferences. Therefore, if McDonald’s competitors offer what some customers think best suits them, there are high chances that

The Importance of Branding in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Importance of Branding in Business - Essay Example Furthermore, the discussion between these five industries will analyze class, category, forms, and brands that exist within each; helping the reader to gain a further level of interpretive understanding that relates to the way in which these entities compete and exist within the current environment. Through an analysis of these metrics, the author will be able to provide the reader with a more in-depth analysis of the way in which previous scholarship has provided these markets with invaluable tools for understanding the importance that branding plays with respect to attracting customers defining consumer choice, substitutability, and competition that exists within each one of these. Though it might be understood that competition is guaranteed, the reality of the fact is that differing levels of competition create unique opportunities and help to define markets that would otherwise be incorrectly categorized. The first article that will be analyzed is entitled, â€Å"From Roots Culture To Sour Fruit: The Aesthetics Of Fashion Branding Cultures in Canada." As such, the research begins with discussing the impact of class and category of this particular industry is that of consumer goods relating to fashion. However, the article quickly delves into issues of measurement with respect to the extreme diversification that exists with respect to the forms and brands of actual industries that compete within this sector. The article further denotes that this extreme competition creates an extremely differentiated hierarchy of brands and allows for an extreme level of differentiation between these offerings to be exhibited to the end consumer. Price and quality further help to define what markets will be approached and what consumers will be courted. The core boundary that exists, and is defined by the research, is with regard to the strategic players in this market and how they react to price, pre stige, and quality.  

Reading of Jane Austen(TM)s short stories Essay Example for Free

Reading of Jane Austen(TM)s short stories Essay From a reading of Jane Austens short stories what do we learn about womens lives in the late eighteenth century? In Jane Austens a collection of short stories Love and Friendship, she shows us the lives of women in the late eighteenth century, and what they have to deal with. These short stories are written in epistolary (letter) form between women who were friends at the time, these letters show us what their lives were about and what was considered to be important to them. Jane Austen writes about marriage, status, personal views and the attitude to what she saw, she also uses humour in her letters showing us how shallow women were in that time. For young women in the late eighteenth century marriage was very important and a woman who did not get married was considered worthless, all women were expected to get married. There were many important reasons to get married for a woman living in this time, the most important reason being having money. If a woman had no money she would be considered as having a bad status, because women when they were with their parents had no possession of their own. In the three sisters Mary is not sure about marrying Mr Watts she does not like him but she still considers marring him because he has a lot of money. He has a large fortune and will make great settlements on me. I hate him more than anybody else in the world. This shows us the amount of money he has is more important than the relationship and how happy they will be together. She decides to marry him if he will give her all she wants, this shows us how shallow the women could be and what they will do for possessions, she demands a new carriage hung as high as the Duttons, and blue spotted with silver; and I shall expect a new saddle horse, a suit of fine lace, and an infinite number of the most fine jewelsmust always let me do just as I please and make a very good husband. This shows us all the things she expects to get in marring him they are all but one material goods. This shows us that women in the eighteenth century were very much focused on marriage and how much money they could get out of it. If a woman did not get married she would either have to live with her mother or a paid female companion. Another alternative was to be a governess to a wealthy family; this was not a good thing to be because you would be treated a little better than a servant, they would neither be on the same level as the servants or the family. Young women in the late eighteenth century were considered well educated if they had plenty of accomplishment, these were things like sewing, singing, reading and entertaining their guests at a dinner party. In Lesley Castle, Margaret Lesley was writing to Charlotte Lutterell tell her what they did to pass the time in Scotland and what they do is we read, we work, we walk and when fatigued with these employments we relieve our spirits, either by a lively song, a graceful dance or by some smart bon-mot and witty repartee. This shows us that they did not do any challenging or intelligent type of work. The women in the late 18th century were also polite this shows us that this mattered in this time; we can see they are polite because they write long pleasant letters to each other. Lesley Castle demonstrates that it is important to have accomplishments in this time and it allowed them to get into a good marriage which was the most important thing in a young ladys life in the late eighteenth century. Not many girls of the time attended school but the few that did attended boarding school, would not learn to be clever they would only learn things like sewing and singing. Margaret Lesley and Charlotte Lutterell both went to boarding school together, it is four years since my removal from school. School was mostly for boys, some girls went to boarding school but the education was not very good because they did not need lessons and the teachers did not know what to teach them. Women in the late eighteenth century did not own anything or have any property for themselves. A womans inheritance would be given to a distant male relative the woman would never be given the whole of the money. The only way women could get money was through marriage, Mary only wants to marry Mr Watts because he has a large fortune and will make great settlements on me. She also expects the pinmoney; two hundred a year. Which Mr Watts only want to be a hundred and seventy-five. When Mary agrees to marry Mr Watts she expects him to build her an elegant greenhouse and stock it with plants a room on purpose and a theatre to act plays in. she also expects to be allow out of the house all the time she insists on spending every Winter in Bath, every Spring in town, every summer in taking some Tour, and every Autumn at a watering place. Marys mother is set on not letting such an opportunity escape of settling one of my daughters so advantageously. This shows us that money was not only important to the woman but also important to the rest of their family, to ensure that the family would stay with money. It would also be in a mans interest to marry someone with lots of money because some of the family money would be given to him for marring into the family. Marriage was based on material goods not on a relationship. If you did not marry you would have no money and possessions you could have from your father. In Lesley castle Charlotte Lutterell is worried what will happen if by this second marriage sir George should have a second family, our fortunes must be considerably diminished those jewels which once adorned our mother Matilda would no longer sit at the head of her fathers table. This shows us how easy it is to loose money and financial security. Female friendship in the late 18th century come over as shallow, because they are always judging each other Margaret Lesley calls her mother-in-law an insignificant dwarf. Where their mother-in-law Susan Lesley calls Margaret and Matilda scotch giants and continues I am sure they would frighten you out of your wits. This show us that women in the 18th century judge each other and think they look better than each other. There is also a lot of rivalry between friends Mary in The Three Sisters, says how I will triumph over the Duttons and the two families were friends; this shows us that was even rivalry between friends and even though they were nice to them to their faces they were horrible behind peoples backs. Manners and etiquette were more important than actual friendship; Susan Lesley and Charlotte Lutterell are only friends even though they are feed up with each other because she is too polite and I am too civil to say they still write letters which are still as frequent and as affectionate. This show us that women in the late eighteenth century are very selfish, and their lives were very shallow. We have learnt from reading Jane Austens short stories that women in the late eighteenth century had very little choice to what they could do because they had to marry to ensure that they would still have enough money to live. Life in the late eighteenth century for women was very much everyone out for themselves and they all had to fight over having a rich man and material goods better than everyone elses. Jane Austen did not like living in this time we can tell this because of the humour she uses with the women to show how important money was to them in The Three Sister Mary is very indecisive whether she should marry Mr Watts or not. Today we find it hard to compare with how they lived in the late eighteenth century because it is so different to how we live now. I am glad that we live in a society today which is more accepting to women and how both male and female should be treated the same. I also believe that Jane Austen would prefer to live in the society that we live in today because Jane Austen always humours the women in her collection of short stories.

Implications of Human Resource Department Becoming Strategic

Implications of Human Resource Department Becoming Strategic The human resource management is a coherent and much strategic way of managing companys highly valued assets, who the people working in an organization and either individual or collectively ensure the attainment of the organizational goals and objectives. The terminology human resource management and human resource have taken over the place of personnel management, as an explanation of the procedures involved in the management of people in any organization. HRM simply implies to the process of employing individuals, develop their abilities, using them, maintaining them and make their compensation. Through research, a number of articles have been produced proposing certain HR activities that are much linked to strategies of businesses. Furthermore, recent studies have started looking at determinants of human resource practice from the strategic point of view, (Beaumont, 1991). The Role of theory in SHRM Since SHRM exist in an applied nature, it is much significant that the field uses theoretical models that provide room for prediction and understanding the impacts of HR activities in the functioning of a company. It is just till recent that, that the most inadequacies of SHRM, was the lack of theoretical basis that is much strong, that allows the viewing of HRM functioning in larger companies. According to Zedeck and Cisco, (1984), the matters of HRM are part of a system that is much open, and research lacks theories, unless put under broader organizations contexts. Concerning the SHRM dependant variables, it has been stated that, it will be very significant to develop articulated personnel theory that draws from the human resource management. This field instead of having theories, it is characterized by descriptive typologies in place of good theories. The writings in the field of SHRM are just concerned with real advices of empirical data. The SHRM is described as plethora of stat ements since the field lacks proper theories, (Hill Jones, 1998). Though there has been an explicit proposed connection between business strategies and the practices of HR, strategic intent has been viewed as being one determinant of such like practices. Some theoretical models leave out business strategy as a HR practice determinant. By concentrating on determinants that are not as an effect of proactive decision making, it has been argued that SHRM has to look into political and institutional determinants of the HR activities, to the extent of predicting and understanding decision processes of SHRM. The coordination of slate of HR deeds towards some strategic ending has been hindered by the political and institutional forces. Strategic theories of HRM From the time of strategic introduction in the management field, industrial companies strategists have mainly dependent on single frame work of SWOT analysis. The main assistance to the strategy, literature has been centred on portions of these competitive advantages models. It has been argued that SHRM entails two key functions, namely; management of competence and management of behaviours. Competence management entails factors that companies does not ensure its employees have needed skills in execution of some strategies. This take into consideration negotiations with external workers for the attraction, selection, retention and the usage of employees with required skills, knowledge and capabilities for the execution of the strategic business plan. Competence acquisition refers to the practices like selection that ensure organizations employees have the much competence required. Competence utilization involves activities that use latent skills that in the previous strategy had been seen unnecessary. Retention of competence on the other hand refers to the strategies that aim at the retention various competences in the company via the reduction of turnover and continuous training. Lastly, displacement of competence entails practices that target the removal of competencies that are seen not to be necessary for the companys strategy, (Charles Jones, 1998). Management of behaviour on its side, once employees with needed skills and competence are brought in the organization, they work collectively or individually to ensure that they are giving support to the strategy of the organization. Behavioural control on its part entails practices like performance appraisal and systems of pay that looks forward in controlling behaviours of workers, to ensure that they are in line with companys goals. Strategies of coordinating behaviours entail appraisal and organizational development practices that coordinates behaviours across employees to support the strategy of the organization, (Fombrun, Tichy, Devanna, 1984). Snells model of control theory model emphasizes on the importance of coordinating various HRM practices. On the other hand, it explicitly recognizes the imperfect nature of making decisions in SHRM because of bounded uncertainties. Other models assume that environmental and strategic competencies and the real competencies and behavioural responsibility are much important in achieving the strategy. Good HRM activities that elicit such like competencies and behaviours are exactly known in this model. In cybernetic sense, control theory is a dynamic model of continuous environmental monitoring and internal alterations. The HRM activities and adjustments that correspond, these activities whenever outcome tends to move away from the desired system. The agency cost theory model has been connected to the human resources through bureaucratic costs concept. These costs are transaction costs that that are mostly associated with human resource management in a given hierarchy. In this, the HRM activities allow the measurement of contributions that are unique. They also provide enough rewards for personal performances. The agency theory has been used in explaining determinants of things like systems of compensation, (Peter John, 2003). Due to the fact that transaction cost model has been used in strategic management literature, it is now also possible to apply theoretical framework in finding a relation between strategy and SRHM. It might look intuitive that strategy of a company can have an impact on the work nature. To the level that work nature changes, to either have more or less uncertainties. The types of HRM systems are important to monitoring inputs, manners, and even the output changes. This framework provides theoretical foundation for looking at the reasons that makes different strategic decisions giving rise to different HRM activities, (Porter, 1985). Academic Theory Over the last 20 years, empirical studies have been done to find the connection between the HRH and the performances of the organization. Strategic human resource entails three strands of work; Best fit, Best practice and Resource Based. The idea of best practice suggests that the adoption of some best practices in Human Resource management results in better organizations performances. It has been argued by (Pfeffer, 1994) that there exist seven best practices that can be used to attain competitive advantage through individuals and profit building by placing people first. They include employment security, selective hiring, information sharing, intensive training, self-management teams, high pay and reduction of status differentially. Best practice is to be implemented in bundles hence difficult to identify which is the best, as shown by (Elwood et al 1996). Research has shown that best fit argues that HRM improves performance where there exist close vertical fit between HRM practices and the strategies of the company. This enhances coherency between HR people processes and the external market. There are many theories on the nature of this vertical integration. Lifestyle models explain that the policies and practices of HR can be mapped on the on the stage of organizations development. The competitive advantage model, takes the views of porter about the strategic choice and places arrange of HR practices onto the firms choice of the competitive strategies. The configuration model provides a sophisticated approach which advocates for close examination of the firms strategy so that appropriate HR practices and policies can be determined. On the other hand, this method assumes that organization strategies can be identified- many firms exist in a state of development and flux, (Legge, 1989). Recent studies have shown that resource based view forms the foundation of modern human resource management. It concentrates on the internal resources of an organization and how they usually contribute to the competitive advantage. The uniqueness of such resources is preferred to homogeneity. The HRM has the central responsibility of to develop human resources that are rare, valuable, effectively organized and difficult to copy and or substitute. Generally the HRM theory explains that that, the objective of human resource management to assist organizations meet their strategic goals by maintaining and attracting employees on top of effectively managing them. HRM ensures a fit between the firms employees management and overall firms strategic direction, as concluded by (Elwood et al 1996). Strategic Human Resource Evaluation Over the years, companies have realized that workers are needed to be looked upon as competitive advantage. As an impact, the HR department is developing from carrying out simple administrative issues, to being strategic partners. The department has been given the responsibility of ensuring that company objectives have been attained. This development needs new methods of defining and assessing the successes of HR development. It is not sufficient to measure it basing on traditional operational methods of internal efficiency. Due to this, the department of HR, need to value of their strategic participations (Angel, Elizabeth, 2003). Years back, HR department used to measure their achievements by looking at how busy they were, the number of employees recruited or even interviewed among other things. This measure depicted HR practices as being administrative functions required to execute practices t5hat are related to personnel. This HR functioning conception has really changed as companies have started realizing the potential competitiveness of their employees. A large number of organizations are putting in much effort in designing practices of HR that give room for the development of the strategic value of their employees. This approach that is on the way coming, SHRM, calls for the expansion of HR role that involves strategic on top of administrative functions. To change the centred HR also needs the development of new methods of defining and assessing the Hr duties, (Porter, 1985). The modern functions of HR, includes four major complimentary duties. The first role is excellence in administrative work; this role is much significant due to its immediate way of participating in to the efficiency of the organization, and usually helps in building the credibility that is much needed in assuming other influential roles. Secondly; the duty of HR, professionals have to know that employees are champions in all the ways. By recognizing the value of committed, and motivated, the HR has to play his or her critical roles of advocating employees. The department of HR is supposed to be the voice of employees in management discussions, on top of which, the department has initiate programs that airs issues and employee concerns and issues. The two additional roles that modern departments of human resource management are these concerned with the strategic partner, and an agent of change. Since the department is a strategic partner, it calls for continuous evaluation of the alignment between modern practices of HR and the business goals of the organization. It also calls for continuous effort in designing policies and activities that ensures that this alignment is maximized. The professionals in HR have to assist in determining the current culture of the company. Also the structure has to change towards the direction that supports strategy of the company. At the same time, the department of human resource needs to play the main role in management and implementation such like changes that have been established. By assessing potential sources, of resistance to these changes and the collaboration with line managers in ensuring that they overcome these hindrances. The roles that were mentioned earlier, about administrative expertise and champions of employees, are considered day-to-day and operational nature. On the other hand, the duties of strategic partners and agents of changes, stands in for the developing strategic dimensions of the duties of HR. in a similar fashion, the duties of administrative expertise, and the deal of strategic partner with the operations, whilst the champions of employee and agents of change duties concentrates on individuals, (Angel, Elizabeth, 2003). This turn that is taking place in strategic HR functions, makes one to have expectations of observing trends that are parallel in the manner in which the department of HR evaluates its own performances. On the other hand, traditional measures, indicates the degree of operation efficiency, the effects of specific programs of HR, on the strategic objectives of the firm have to be assessed too. This new changes are based on deliverable individuals not on variables that are dabbles. The Department Of HR Challenges in Becoming Strategic Partners Avoiding strategic plans on top of Shelf, though many strategies have been written, only a few have been acted upon. There have been the creation of many visions, but only a few have been realized. Comparing the missions that have been expounded, but only a percentage has been executed. Becoming a member of strategic partner, have a meaning that explains the turning strategic statements into a set of companies action. The process of overcoming SPOTS challenge, calls for professions in HR to forces issues of an organization into strategic discussions, before deciding on the issues that are strategies. The department of HR is supposed to facilitate diagnosis of the organization, which in brief explains on how aligned strategies of business are to the culture of the organization, (Humanresourcesdegreeonline, 2010). Another challenge is the creation of a balanced scorecard. The idea of balanced scorecard has been in existence for long time; however, its application is the one that has been made popular. A scorecard that is much balanced centres on serving many stakeholders, and can be total index in assessing the executive. Conclusion The implications of the human resource department becoming strategic clearly show that there is a change from personnel management to HRM. The implications of department show that the utilization of human resource at different times has played an important role making the department to become strategic. The aspects of human resource management have been designed in a way that it concurs with the needs of surrounding in which changes to SHRM. The basic aspects of SHRM, is rooted on assumption that the human resource strategy can in one way or the other assist in attaining business strategies but also vindicated by it, (Nadeem, 2009). This concepts validity rely on the extent at which it is assumed that individuals create added value, and as a result, there is need for them to be handled as a resource that is much strategic. SHRM is real only when translated into theoretical models and then implemented through personnel strategies. Human resource department needs a shift towards a macr o-point of view, to apply to the broader part of the organization. In fact, there need to be commitments on high quality in the company, which then will become more productive in the firm. Basing on the same point, a stronger leadership group is needed in the department for the exploration of both human and non-human resources.

South African Show Shaka Zulu Film Studies Essay

South African Show Shaka Zulu Film Studies Essay In late 1986, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) created a television mini-series by the name of Shaka Zulu. It would prove an instant and huge success, and by 1992 it had been seen by over 350 million viewers in South Africa and abroad (Tomaselli 1992). Best described as an historical drama, the series centred on the first recorded encounter between blacks and whites in southeast Africa, with particular focus on the interactions between an exploratory British party, led by Lieutenant Francis Farewell (Edward Fox), and the ruler of a powerful and dangerous kingdom, the legendary Shaka Zulu (Henry Cele) (Hamilton 1998, p.171). In brief, the narrative follows Farewells band of men (including the storys narrator, Henry Francis Fynn) as they head to Zululand to dissuade Shaka from an attack on the Cape Colony. They are shipwrecked, captured by the Zulus, and come to learn about how Shakas kingdom was built. Within this structure, Fynns diary is used as a mechanism for a se ries of flashbacks which tell Shakas life story: his conception and birth (he is illegitimate), his life as an outcast, and his rise to power (Hamilton 1998). It is a violent portrayal Shaka is shown to be destined to rule through brutality (Fynn records that Shakas mother gave birth to a nation of blood-stained spears) (Faure 1986) and spends most of his time angrily taking revenge on those who have wronged him (Tomaselli 1992). Eventually, with the death of his mother, Nandi (Dudu Mkhize), Shaka is struck by a violent grief and the series ends with the Zulu kingdom in flames (Hamilton 1998, p.172). Farewell and company prove unable to save Shaka from himself, and the Zulu nation falls into chaos. Before conducting an analysis of the television series itself, it is worth examining how Shaka was remembered in Zulu culture long before the show was even commissioned. Like all history, there is no single voice in Zulu oral accounts of Shakas rule. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, different Zulu interests drew on different Shakas to support their actions in a changing world (Hamilton 1992, p.62). Thus, accounts differ significantly about key episodes in his life and fundamentally in their evaluation of the Zulu king and the Zulu memory of Shaka has not always been unanimously favourable towards him (Hamilton 1998, p.53). Having said this, Hallencreutz (1989, p.73) argues that we can roughly view the appreciative, complimentary izibongo (praise singers) as the core of the established Zulu tradition, and the more critical oral accounts as belonging to other related ethnic groups. And the fact that the legacy of the Shaka izibongo has tended to persist in situations of politica l crisis seems to support this claim. Thus the myth of Shaka, as he is remembered by Zulu oral historians, is probably best captured by those who pursue the izibongo tradition to some extent. I would suggest that the memory of Shaka is, for the most part, exemplified by poets such as Mazisi Kunene (1979 cited Hallencreutz 1989, p.75) who ends his commemoration of Shaka (based on Zulu oral accounts) as follows: He is an Ancestral Spirit; he cannot be stabbed. Even now they sing his song. They call his name. They dance in the arena listening to the echoes of his epics Till the end of time-they shall sing of him. Till the end of time his shield shall shelter the hero from the winds And his children shall rise like locusts. They shall scatter the dust of our enemies, They shall make our earth free for the Palm Race. Thus, while it is important to note that Zulu accounts of Shaka can and do differ greatly from hailing him as a benevolent leader to decrying him as a violent killer it is evident that they tend to fundamentally acknowledge that Shaka was an extraordinary man (Cele 2001, p.119). Various factors, including a perpetual need to describe the achievements of a leader who stood up to white expansion (especially considering South Africas particular history), have resulted in Shakas uniqueness and extraordinariness being prominent features in almost all Zulu oral histories (Cele 2001, p.121). While not unanimously favourable towards him, Zulu oral histories about Shaka would never portray him as being dependent on or subservient to the white man. As I am arguing that Shaka Zulu demonstrates how myth can be stripped down and re-imagined, it is also necessary for the purposes of this essay, to illustrate how and why Shakas story in Zulu oral history falls under the broad banner of myth (as used in the scholarly sense). Obviously, the definition of myth is a contested one. Nevertheless, I would argue that the Shaka legend, as remembered in Zulu culture, is mythic in almost every sense of the word. For instance, Mircea Eliade (cited Segal 2004, p.60) suggests that the mere ritualistic recitation of the highpoints in a characters biography (as demonstrated by the Zulu izibongo) posits that characters life as myth. The simple act of creating an oral biography for a famous historical figure like Shaka can transform them into near-gods and their sagas into myths (Eliade cited Segal 2004, p.53). Certainly, the Shaka story seems to comply with Levi-Strauss assertion that it is almost a prerequisite of myth that it starts out as an oral tradition (Leach 1974, p.56). In recording Shakas life in oral form, historical truths are transfigured, resulting in a new reality with a highly mythic character as chief protagonist (Mersham 1993). Hence, by the time the Shaka Zulu television show was commissioned in 1986, Zulu culture had already transfigured Shakas history into something quite mythic. Various elements of the Shaka story also closely resemble many of the telltale characteristics of myth as defined by theorists. For instance, Segal (2004, p.5) states that it is a prerequisite of myths that the main figures be personalities divine, human, or even animal. Shaka certainly fits this bill, as his presence tends to dominate Zulu folklore, where he is positioned somewhere in between divine and human (and he was even hailed as the great elephant by his praise singers) (Kunene 1979, p.13). Both Mersham (1993) and Cele (2001) go so far as to suggest that the man was (and is) for some Zulus a black Jesus Christ a symbol of deliverance from outside oppressors. Shakas story also evidences such highly mythic themes such as fratricide (Shaka was assassinated by his half brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana). This underrating of blood relations is a key feature of myth in Levi-Strauss terms (Leach 1974, p.76). Otto Rank (cited Segal 2004, p.96), in The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, s uggests that dislike of two brothers for each other is often traceable to the competition for the tender devotion and love of the mother. While this isnt necessarily the case with Shakas story, his love for his mother, Nandi, is well-documented (and is a key element in the Shaka myth). Shakas life, as it is remembered in Zulu culture, essentially is, by Northrop Fryes definition (cited Segal 2004, 81), a quest-myth it is the myth of the life of the hero. His life story conforms closely to Fryes four stages of birth, triumph, isolation, and the heros defeat. As Rank (cited Segal 2004, p.96) states, the mythological hero is heroic and triumphant because he rises from [relative] obscurity to, typically, the throne. And usually, like Shaka, he is a victim of Fate. Further, the Shaka narrative is mythic in the way it operates within the community which invests in it. Wylie (1997) argues that Shakas life story has achieved the status of myth, simply by virtue of the fact that it has garnered an authority of its own which is unthinkingly followed and repeated despite historical changes or the surfacing of contrary evidence. In being simplified and made innocent to its receivers, history has become myth, and myth is given a natural and eternal justification (Barthes 1993, p.143). Mythic history is above questioning and bereft of factual detail. It is not so much an explanation of events as it is a statement of fact (Barthes 1993, p.143). This is a key hallmark of myth, allowing it to function as it does in modern society. Myth, says Levi-Strauss (cited Leach 1974, p.59) is powerful in that novices of the society who hear the myths for the first time are being indoctrinated by the bearers of the tradition a tradition, which in theory at any rate, has been handed down from long dead ancestors. Through the recitation of this tradition and the passing of time, says Barthes (1993, p.142), things lose the memory that they were once made. In the case of the Shaka myth, this untouchability of a mythic characters life story has had very real social and political ramifications (as will be discussed later). Finally, I would suggest that myths that are successful in modern-day societies almost always go some way to explaining and commemorating the founding of that society. The Shaka myth both in its original form and as it is recreated for the television show is a classic embodiment of the myth of a founding community an origin (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.132). It is typically mythic in that it explains how one state of affairs became another: how a plurality of tribes became a nation (and the rendition of the myth in the television series ultimately served to legitimate KwaZulus leaders rights to rule in 1986)(Mersham 1993). The man who played the central part in the establishment of the nation is the main figure. The cult of Shaka is mythological in that it honours his role in the establishment of the Zulu nation (Segal 2004, p.59). But where the myth described by Zulu oral historians focuses on the creation of the nation under Shaka, the television show emphasises an equally myt hic but quite different side to the kings rule: his downfall. The myth as depicted in Shaka Zulu closely matches the native American myths that so intrigued Levi-Strauss myths where: The entire story aims at explaining why after their first beginning, a given clan or lineage or group of lineages have overcome a great many ordeals, known periods of success and periods of failures, and have been progressively led towards a disastrous ending. It is an extremely pessimistic story, really the history of a downfall. (Levi-Strauss 1989, p.38) I will argue that the filmmakers (and their SABC backers) adopted this approach to the myth as a means of warning against violence in the pursuit of power (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.132). Thus, a highly mythic story element was used to serve a very real function. A new myth, with a very different message, was manufactured to replace the old. How filmmakers able make myth It should now be evident how the Shaka myth developed and endured in Zulu oral histories. However, I will argue further that the creators of the Shaka Zulu television show essentially took this and recreated their own, new mythology to suit their own purposes. According to Barthes (1982 cited Wylie 1997), myth is an empty parasitical form, enabling it to be reformulated and reconstituted in various incarnations. While initially based in history, it is necessarily incomplete, accepted as truth but effectively divorced from the contingency of events (Wylie 1997). Thus, the line between history and mythology and I would argue, an original mythology and reinvented mythology as in the series is effectively blurred. Thus, there is room for new mythologies to effectively be invented which claim to be based on the same historical truths which inspired the original narratives. As Levi-Strauss (1989, p.38) asks, where does mythology end and where does history start?. The simple opposition be tween mythology and history which has traditionally been treated as a given is not at all a clear-cut one (Levi-Strauss 1989, p.40), and space is made for new mythologies to be created on essentially the same histories. In short, the creators of Shaka Zulu created a new mythology based on an old mythology originally linked to an almost two-hundred year old history. Hence, I argue that the Shaka Zulu television series adapted the Shaka Zulu myth for western eyes. For instance, grotesque witchdoctors were included in the show to serve the narrative function of magical creatures who aid or threaten the heros quest (Parks 1982 cited in Tomaselli 1992). While historically inaccurate and politically dubious, magical elements are included for television as they are integral to the western mythical formula (Tomaselli 1992). Tomaselli (1992) goes so far as to suggest that the very fact that television is a Western form of expression doomed Shaka Zulu to being a white, Western interpretation of the myth from the start. I would not necessarily go that far, but I would maintain that series was, either consciously or unconsciously, fashioned to conform to western notions of myth. Like the witchdoctors, the white crews sea voyage into a mysterious and dangerous land in Part One of the series hearkens back to some of the oldest myths in western culture. Likew ise, the television show is laden with western notions of prophecy. Shakas rise to power is explained almost entirely in terms of the witchdoctor, Sitayis prophecy. Before the party leave for Zululand, Fynn talks of a prophetic child who it is said will bring with him an era in which the name amaZulu will signify terror and death. (Faure 1986). Similarly, with his birth, the narration talks of how the prophecy was about to begin its determined path (Faure 1986). The links with other canonical western myths such as that of Oedipus are self-evident. Thus, Shaka Zulu, in its efforts to subscribe to the conventions of the mythic form familiar to western audiences, deviates notably from the mythology evidenced in Zulu oral accounts. Where Zulu mythologies about Shaka tended to cut through the bizarre to the essence of depictions, Shaka Zulu was obsessed with the surreal (Tomaselli 1992). The inevitable result was an othering of the Zulu people in a show almost unrecognisable alongside th e history it professed to present. Actual analysis show Content There can be little doubt that much of the shows actual content is, at best, dubious in its portrayal of the Zulu people and the history of Shakas rule. The Zulus portrayed are a bizarre and violent people (Tomaselli 1992). The first scenes in which Zululand are shown are typified by bloody warfare and crying infants. In fact, when we first encounter Shakas kingdom in Part One of the series, we do so through the eyes of the bewildered white party surrounded by sweating masses speaking a strange language, mysterious drum beats and an almost constant procession of war parties running around for no apparent reason (Faure 1986). Certainly, little effort has been made by the filmmakers to portray the everyday, mundane life of the Zulu people the emphasis is almost wholly on public, frequently violent rituals (Tomaselli 1992). The act of making the Other a spectacle is principal characteristic of western, bourgeois myth, says Barthes (1993, p.152), and this is process is patent in Shaka Zulu. Like his subjects, Shaka is also othered as a barbarian megalomaniac with an obsessive desire for revenge (Mersham 1993). Failure to please him carries the penalty of him killing every member of the party (Faure 1986). And, like all the Zulus, he is dictated to by superstition and ritual Have the armies assembled by the next full moon is one of the first commands we hear (Faure 1986). And perhaps the most startling subversion of history and myth comes in the form of the shows witchdoctors. What in truth were perfectly ordinary natural healers are depicted as superhuman, grotesque individuals (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.135). Scary and monsterish, their arrival in a scene is almost always accompanied by thunder and lightning and rain (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.135). In truth, these izangoma were welcomed as an integral part of the community a far cry from the creatures with glowing eyes that command packs of hyenas and maintain dens of dwarfs (Hamilton 1998, p.179). Th us, Zulu ritual is presented as being disgusting and frightening. (Hamilton 1998, p.179). Tomaselli and Shepperson (2002, p.135) argue that such a typical white misinterpretation of Zulu cultural practice is legitimised by the show positing itself as a mythology not, I would argue, a mythology familiar to Zulu history, but one that has been manufactured by white producers for audiences in 1986. It is a typically white version of a native myth (as evidenced by an almost Pocahontas-like scene of Nandi as a young Zulu maiden being watched as she washes at a misty waterfall) (Faure 1986). It is a myth reconfigured to make a modern-day impact. Style The series is also notable for the clear stylistic decisions on how it was shot. There is a very obvious distinction made between those shots that depict the Zulu nation and those featuring the whites in the Cape Colony. The tribal Zulu scenes are largely shot through a sepia filter, with an over-emphasis on yellows, browns and bloody reds. The only deviation from this formula comes during the night-time scenes chilling blue, rife with thunder and lightning, and loaded with imagery of sorcery, magic and the supernatural (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.134). Tomaselli and Shepperson (2002, p.134) argue that ethnographic detail is deliberately obscured by the hazy sepia lighting, the clouds of smoke made by fog machines and the mass of shiny, sweaty (oiled) black skins. The end product is a smudge of objects and people, depicted as an incomprehensible writhing, pulsating and faceless dark mass as they dart about the landscape in a storm of dust. (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.134). Aga in, I would argue there is something quite mythic about this hazy, blurry portrayal of a people. This is in stark contrast to the shots of white people in the Cape Colony, which are whiter, truer and do not contain the clashes between hot and chilling colours (Tom Shepperson, p.134). Thus, the binary oppositions that Levi-Strauss argues are so integral to myth are blatant: white vs black; light vs darkness; civilisation vs barbarity; rationality vs magic; normal behaviour vs ritual; peace vs war and order vs chaos (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.134). Again, conscious decisions from the filmmakers have resulted in a new, subverted mythology. And I would argue that this essentially racist version of Shakas story professes to audiences to be the canonical version of the myth. Intentions etc Like all stories, re-imagined mythologies such as that on show in Shaka Zulu are clouded by the conventions of narrative in terms of prevailing worldviews (Tomaselli 1992). In other words, the creators of Shaka Zulu were dictated to in their mythmaking by the established ideologies of the time. The show is, thus, inextricably linked to the socio-political situation in South Africa at the time of its creation (Tomaselli 1992). Further, any author cannot help but impart something of his or her worldview on audiences when broadcasting a creation to the public domain. As van Jaarsveld (cited Mersham 1993) argues, as soon as an author (in this case, director William C Faure) presents an interpretation of the past, they are putting forward an arsenal of arguments for formulating decisions about the future. Thus, it was not by accident that the Shaka myth (and message) presented on screen differed so greatly from that recounted by Zulu oral historians. Director William C Faures stated intentions for the series were explicit: to bring the story of Shaka Zulu home to the Zulu people (Faure 1986). He is quoted (cited Tomaselli 1992) as saying: Shakas life was originally recorded by white historians who imposed upon their accounts bigoted and sensationalist values often labelling the Zulus as savage and barbaric. It is our intention with this series to change that view. However, as Barthes posits, all myths are founded on a concealment of some meanings and the interested promotion of others (Rylance 1994, p.47) and there was more motivating Faure than just the desire to right historical wrongs. He also hoped that show would shed light on South Africa, correct misconceptions and change the system (Hamilton 1992, p.181). It appears to have been his deepest wish that the show would balance international perceptions about the conflict in 1980s South Africa, and thus whatever intentions he had to redress the injustices of history became distorted by his commitment to this objective (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.131). Thus, Tomaselli and Shepperson (2002, p.133) argue that Faures project was couched, perhaps unintentionally, within apartheid discourse, and does no justice to either Shaka or history. This is just further evidence that mythology as a story form is manufactured to suit prevailing worldviews. From the off, Faures creation was fraught with apparent political interference. The series writer, Joshua Sinclair, removed himself from the production when he was made aware of the directors links with South African Military Intelligence (Blignaut cited Tomaselli 1992). Faure was also convinced out of using Zulu poet, Mazisi Kunenes epic Emperor Shaka the Great as source material, as it was deemed to be overly critical of white people and because Kunene was an exiled member of the African National Congress (ANC) (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.130). However, the relationship between the filmmaker and the SABC (and the state) was by no means a straightforward one. Faure liaised equally closely with not only the Zulu royal family (inviting the Zulu prince Gideon onto set as a cultural advisor) but also the Zulu government (Tomaselli 1992). Yet even with these efforts to seek Zulu approval, we shall see that the level of state involvement was tangible. The key to Shaka Zulus unique succ ess was in that it was able to establish a myth that was acceptable to both those who already had their own version of Shakas story and those largely unfamiliar with it. The apartheid government saw Shaka Zulu as an opportunity to reformulate the myth in a way that would more closely suit their plans. Initially a powerful tale of a hero resisting white oppression, the myth was transformed into something quite different. At the time of Shaka Zulus release, South Africa was in a state of violent political turmoil. The apartheid regime was fast coming around to the idea that solutions to the violence in South African society had to be found. Thus, Faures proposed television series offered the state and the SABC a key opportunity to present all South Africans with a drama advocating interracial collaboration and portraying the dangers of its failure (Hamilton 1998, p.181). As Barthes (1993, p.156) states, mythology harmonises with the world, not as it is, but as it wants to create itself. The mythology of Shaka Zulu was, in effect, a reflection of how the government thought South Africa should be. Shaka Zulu represented an opportunity for the government to promote a resolution based on order (apparently best reflected by the capitalist Inkatha Freedom Party) over disorder (basically, the socialist ANC freedom fighters) (Tomaselli 1992). To the apartheid government, order implied keeping nations separate according to tribal homeland, and Tomaselli (1992) argues that the series insistence on manufacturing a dichotomy between savagery and civilisation only served to endorse apartheid discourse that black people should be allowed to develop in their own way in their own areas. The government also needed cooperative, authoritarian black leaders to implement their visions of peaceful segregation. Someone, says Hamilton (1998, p.184) like Shaka Zulu. The closest match was the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whose links with Zulu royalty made him and his fellow party leaders the shows perfect target audience. Shaka Zulu effectively acted as a means for the government to communicate its reformist visions to Buthelezi and his leadership. For instance, the chaos of the Zulu kingdom portrayed in the final episode after Shakas rejection of white interaction came as a stern warning to black politicians such as Buthelezi of the consequences of trying to go it alone (Hamilton 1998, p.184) (as an interesting aside, it is worth noting how this all fits into Levi-Strauss insistence that the chief moral implication of myth is that self-interest is the source of all evil) (cited Leach 1974, p.81). Refusal to cooperate with the apartheid state (just like Shakas refusal to establish a truce with the Cape Colony in the show) would only result in flames and chaos will prevail (Hamilton cited Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.32). Again the myth of the downfall on screen was used to warn against risking the Zulu nations downfall in the real, physical world. The message behind the new myth was clear. The project was not without its critics. The production was universally rejected by anti-apartheid who were fighting for non-racial democracy. Most white anti-apartheid historians were appalled by the series historical inaccuracies (Tomaselli 1992). Wright (cited Mersham 1993) slated the show for pandering to a whole range of colonial and racist stereotypes about the Zulus a people reduced to singing, dancing, fighting. Hamilton states that the multitude of Unzulu untraditional features had many critics baffled as to how the series gained royal approval (Hamilton 1998, p.185). Also, while the series did show Shaka to be a leader of calibre and talent, Hamilton (1998) argues that it was guilty of repeating older stereotypes of his psychological imbalances and bloodthirstiness. Mazisi Kunene (cited Tomaselli 1992) lambasted the series as a rotten a propaganda tool aimed at aimed at projecting the Zulu people and their king as bloodthirsty savages and whites as their saviours. Yet for all the shows obvious failings, the show was an immense success evidence, in my opinion, of the power of the mythic form. Uses Curiously, the Shaka Zulu myth would prove to be as acceptable to the Zulu leadership as it was to the forces that influenced its creation. This has a lot to do with the anxieties within Zulu society at the time of the shows release. Ernst Cassirer wrote in The Myth of the State (1946 cited Segal 2004, p.39) that myth resurfaces as a means of explanation when the rational forces that resist the rise of the old mythical conceptions are no longer sure of themselves. In these moments, he says, the time for myth has come again (1946 cited Segal 2004, p.39). Late apartheid South Africa was such a time. Myth is dangerous in that it is a social-psychological paradigm catering for a particular anxiety in society, yet still as in the case of Shaka Zulu presents itself as something born out of historical truths (Wylie 1997). Thus, myth tends to give a natural justification to the worldviews it supports (Barthes 1993, p.142). Historical veracity becomes far less important than the ways in whi ch the myth is appropriated and utilised. As Barthes (1993, p.144) states: Men do not have with myth a relationship based on truth but on use. For Buthelezi and the IFP, the truthfulness of the myth was far less important than the socio-political purposes it could serve. The white version of the Shaka Zulu myth arrived on South African television screens at a time of great political strife in the Zulu homeland of KwaZulu. Buthelezis Inkatha Freedom Party was involved in a bloody conflict with the African National Congress for legitimate rule. Where the ANC sought multi-party democracy, the IFP stood for Zulu independence, and thus Shaka Zulus emphasis on ethnicity and equating it with nationhood proved to be more than acceptable fillip to Buthelezi (Tomaselli Shepperson 2002, p.133). Mangosuthu Buthelezi was very conscious of the power of the Shaka myth. At political rallies, the IFP leader would be seen wearing the same kind of Zulu royal regalia that Shaka is shown to wear in the series (Tomaselli 1992). In fact, the wearing of traditional, ceremonial skin garments became a marker of Zuluness for IFP politicians (causing many anti-IFP Zulu-speakers to take offence to the notion that they should become postcard Zulus) (Klopper 1996, p.55). Thus, I argue that it is no contradiction that Shaka Zulu could simultaneously portray the Zulu people as backward, uncivilised and tribal and be a vehicle for legitimating the IFP leadership (Mersham 1993). Tribalism helped the IFPs cause. Further, Buthelezi would explicitly compare himself with the Zulu royalty of Shakas time throughout the 1980s as a means of gaining political credibility with the Zulu people. Thus, the fact that the Shaka Zulu myth was so fresh in the Zulu consciousness with the shows broadcast, became a means for the IFP to bestow its leadership with legitimate authority (Tomaselli 1992). Like Shaka once did, Buthelezi now became the man who would lead his nation against its colonial oppressors (Tomaselli 1992). Tomaselli (1992) even argues that Inkathas militia wing was mobilised as a reincarnation of Shakas impi (military), as a means of inspiring popular support for their (frequently violent) cause. Within the Zulu community, Buthelezis cause was strengthened by Ink athas close identification with the loyalty, discipline and bowing and scraping for Shaka shown in the show (Mersham 1993). Obedience to the leader in the TV series myth was shown to be an innate aspect of Zulu culture questioning Buthelezi was implied to be unZulu. Despite its flaws both in terms of historical accuracy and prejudiced portrayals the Shaka Zulu myth was lauded by the Inkatha leadership as being faithful to their king, and a positive mobilising force for Zulu nationalism (Tomaselli 1992). Thus the Shaka Zulu show became a mechanism for the IFP to portray itself as inheritor and protector of the historical pride of the Zulu nation (Tomaselli 1992). The unsavoury aspects of the shows portrayal of the Zulu people and the downfall of Shaka were superfluous. The myth of a great Zulu leader standing up to outside oppression and the implied suggestion that a new leader had it in him to do likewise were all that mattered. Buthelezi was happy to ride on the dramatic success of the series, even if a perceived concession of the series objectionable features was the price to pay. (Hamilton 1998, p.186). GET OWN WORDS What I have tried to show is that in certain viewing contexts, Shaka Zulu offered a legitimacy for both ruling government and anti-apartheid elements (eg. the Kwa Zulu legislature and Inkatha). Barthes, R., 1993. Mythologies. London: Vintage. Cele, TT., 2001. Qualities of King Shaka as Portrayed in Zulu Oral Testimony and in Izibongo. South African Journal of African Languages, 2, 118-131. Fernandez, JW., 1967. The Shaka Complex. Transition, 29, 11-14. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2934231 [Accessed 8 January 2010] Hallencreutz, CF., 1989. Tradition and Theology in Mofolos Chaka. Journal of Religion in Africa, 19 (1), 71-85. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1581183 [Accessed 8 January 2010] Hamilton, C., 1998. Terrific Majesty: The Powers of Shaka Zulu and the Limits of Historical Invention. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers. Hamilton, C., 1992. The Character and Objects of Chaka: A Reconsideration of the Making of Shaka as Mfecane Motor. The Journal of African History, 33 (1), 37-63. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/182274 [Accessed 15 December 2009] Harries, P. 1993. Imagery, Symbolism and Tradition in a South African Bantustan: Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Inkatha, and Zulu History. History and Theory, 32 (4), 105-125. Available f

Americas Advantages in the Revolution Essay -- essays papers

America's Advantages in the Revolution In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British were faced with rebelling colonies. Finally realizing that they had to fight to keep their colonial possessions, the British sent troops to America. Once the battles began in America, the British were not impressed with the colonial military, but the weak militias soon proved to be effective. With foreign aid from France, American devotion, and the lack of British vigor, the Americans soon discovered the open doors of independence. In my opinion, the American advantages and the British disadvantages proved to be the downfall of the English in the American Revolution. Even though the British army was larger, the American army proved to have talented fighters. The Continental Army and the state militias were essentially the two military organizations of the Americans. Throughout the war, the Americans employed only 231,771 men, which meant that the American forces rarely numbered over 20,000. Compared to the British, the American army was small, but their military tactics and skills were excellent. From a distance of 200 yards, an American rifleman could easily kill a British soldier. Many men observed that the British plainly fired in the general direction of the Americans, while the Americans aimed for the heads of the British. Also, the Americans had many more competent and talented leaders. George Washington and Benedict Arnold were two of the most brilliant Ame...

An Uplifting Church Experience :: Biography Biographies Essays

An Uplifting Church Experience As my friend Jenni and I entered the hall of the big church, a feeling of apprehension overwhelmed us. Our feelings were soon comforted when we entered a sea of smiling faces and outstretched hands. A sense of belonging engulfed us. Ms. Shirley, an older colored woman was first to extend her arms. She did not know us from Adam, but it did not matter. She threw her arms around us. "You girls have the prettiest smiles", she declared. "I am so glad you came to be with us this morning." Words can not describe what the act of kindness did to our feelings of apprehension, and that was just the beginning. The second parishoner to show her gratitude was another older women. She was wearing a flowered dress with a big floppy hat. She asked that we sign the official guest book and requested that we fill out an information card. She had a smile and a heart each made of pure gold. She took great pride in her job. The church had named her "the greeter" over 21 years ago, and according to her version of the story she had not missed a Sunday yet. We took our cards and moved into the sanctuary. It was magnificent. The first thing to catch my eye was a monstrous chandelier that hung from the 50 foot ceiling. It was awe inspiring. As my eyes surveyed the room, it was hard to miss the antique maple pews that provided seats for approximately 300 people. Plush emerald green carpet was the grounding to the room. It's path led directly up to the stage which was home to a variety of items. The band, pulpit, arid baptismal were the most obvious. Above the stage was a huge dome, it was colored in shades of blue, mauve, white, and several other soft accents. A bright light was right in the center of its point. Our gazing was soon interrupted when the official greeter returned. This time she was quick and to the point. She collected our cards and informed us that service was about to begin. Within a matter of minutes, a middle-aged man stepped up to the pulpit and asked us to stand. Brother Terry, lead us in a quick prayer to open the morning's service. The band was already in position and a worship team was waiting in the wings. An Uplifting Church Experience :: Biography Biographies Essays An Uplifting Church Experience As my friend Jenni and I entered the hall of the big church, a feeling of apprehension overwhelmed us. Our feelings were soon comforted when we entered a sea of smiling faces and outstretched hands. A sense of belonging engulfed us. Ms. Shirley, an older colored woman was first to extend her arms. She did not know us from Adam, but it did not matter. She threw her arms around us. "You girls have the prettiest smiles", she declared. "I am so glad you came to be with us this morning." Words can not describe what the act of kindness did to our feelings of apprehension, and that was just the beginning. The second parishoner to show her gratitude was another older women. She was wearing a flowered dress with a big floppy hat. She asked that we sign the official guest book and requested that we fill out an information card. She had a smile and a heart each made of pure gold. She took great pride in her job. The church had named her "the greeter" over 21 years ago, and according to her version of the story she had not missed a Sunday yet. We took our cards and moved into the sanctuary. It was magnificent. The first thing to catch my eye was a monstrous chandelier that hung from the 50 foot ceiling. It was awe inspiring. As my eyes surveyed the room, it was hard to miss the antique maple pews that provided seats for approximately 300 people. Plush emerald green carpet was the grounding to the room. It's path led directly up to the stage which was home to a variety of items. The band, pulpit, arid baptismal were the most obvious. Above the stage was a huge dome, it was colored in shades of blue, mauve, white, and several other soft accents. A bright light was right in the center of its point. Our gazing was soon interrupted when the official greeter returned. This time she was quick and to the point. She collected our cards and informed us that service was about to begin. Within a matter of minutes, a middle-aged man stepped up to the pulpit and asked us to stand. Brother Terry, lead us in a quick prayer to open the morning's service. The band was already in position and a worship team was waiting in the wings.

Admission Essay for the University of Alaska Anchorage

I am of the firm belief that a person without a defining vision for oneself is only as good as that someone living without a sense of direction and meaning in one’s life. This is because I find it needless to contend that personal vision is an essential ingredient to live a sensible life.Vision, if I may argue, is the eternal fount from where all our actions flow, if not from where all our motives take cue. For that reason, I am inclined to think that, only when a person is able to appreciate a complete picture of who he or she is, not the least an idea of what one wants to become in his or her life, can that someone truly come to understand the essence of living a meaningful life.In ways more than one, I am applying at the University of Alaska Anchorage moved by the controlling motive to pursue a vision which I have long believed to be a noble vocation which my heart truly beats for – i.e., to become a successful pilot for the commercial industry, by capitalizing on th e learning that I can gain from a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies.And believe that I can become successful in my chosen field if I am able to pour a fair amount of effort in setting my academic and professional goals right at the onset.Of paramount importance to my vision is to finish a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies. Since the nature of my prospective profession entails immersing myself into the vastly diverse cultures of the world, I believe that a Degree in International Studies is, essentially, of no little importance to my personal and professional journey.At the very least, a degree in International Studies can surely help me appreciate the many different facets of human dynamics, projected, as it were, onto the larger sphere on international arena.And by allowing me to obtain a Degree in International Studies, I believe that the University can become instrumental in helping me appreciate my profession not only as a career, but also  œ nay, even more so – an avenue for greater appreciation of, and respect for world cultures.Secondly, I have reasons to think that my past experiences have been largely contributory to my decision to take up International Studies. Having been raised into a Bush Alaskan environment, where diversity – more than anything else – thrived, in addition to having been given a rare opportunity to briefly pursue scholastic training in Australia, as well having been into not a few States and world countries during my childhood and early adulthood years, I believe that I have a lot of experiences that need dutiful interpretation under the lenses of academic sciences.This is where, I can only surmise, the University steps in. For one, I am more than certain that the University can help me – through the courses slated in its International Studies Degree – to put into wise perspectives the lessons that I have already gained from my otherwise rich life experiences .

Effect of Enzyme Catalese on Hydrogen Peroxide

Aim: The aim of the Assessment Task 1 is to investigate the effect of 1)temperature, 2)pH and 3)substrate concentration on the action of enzyme such as catalase on hydrogen peroxide. Background knowledge: Enzymes are organic catalysts composed of proteins that assist organisms in facilitating metabolic reactions without undergoing any change themselves. Enzymes are sensitive to their environment and so must remain within a stable range of factors ( pH, temperature , substrate concentration etc) for them to function.Any deviations from this stable state can result in decreased efficiency or even the denaturing (destruction) of the enzyme. What affects enzymes: 1)Temperature- Enzymes stop working if the temperature rises above 40? C. Increasing the temperature alters the 3D shape and so the enzyme can no longer fit the substrate. 2)pH- They work best in neutral conditions neither acidic nor alkaline. 3)Substrate concentration – Increasing the substrate concentration, increases t he activiy of the enzymes till it reaches an optimal point beyond which there is no change in the enzyme acitivity.Catalase Enzyme: The activity of an enzyme can be demonstrated using liver, which contains the enzyme, catalase. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down slowly to form water and oxygen. One molecule of Catalase can deal with six million molecules of Hydrogen Peroxide in 1 minute. This breakdown happens rapidly in the present of the Catalase and Oxygen gas evolves rapidly and can be tested with a glowing splint or rising bubbles (variable). Changes in the temperature, acidity (pH) and concentration of the hydrogen peroxide will affect the rate of the reaction.The control was to have a test tube of just substrate without any enzymes present. The validity would be to test each variable in isolation without mixing any of the 3 variables namely, the pH, temp and substrate concentration. The amount of catalase and hydrogen peroxide will remain the same in all the test tubes. Hypothesis : The hypothesis is that since hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen gas because of the enzyme, it is expected that with change in temperature of the catalase, oxygen bubbles would form.Apparatus / Equipment used: -test tubes & test tube racks -pipettes -Tweezers -Ruler -Water baths (for temperature control) -Ice bucket -Thermometer -Beakers -Hotplates -Measuring cylinder -Vinegar -Bi-Carb Soda -pH paper -pH meters Paper towels to cover up spills -Pen and paper to record results Ingredients used: -Liver ( enzyme called catalase) -Hydrogen Peroxide Equipment setup: The test tubes were setup up in a test tube rack. Ice bucket to cool and hot water bucket to warm were also kept in readiness.Experiment 1 (Temperature): Procedure: 1)I put on the work shirt, goggles, gloves and footwear as a safety measure. 2)I chopped up 3 equal pieces of liver. 3)I placed 1 piece of liver into one test tube each. 4)I prepared 3 test tubes each containing 10ml of hydrogen peroxide. 5)I setu p a water baths with 100 Celcius temperature, for temperature control using the thermometer, to ensure the correct temperature was maintained. 6)I placed 2 test tubes containing liver and hydrogen peroxide each into the water bath. )When the correct temperature was reached, I quickly transferred the liver using tweezers into the test tube containing hydrogen peroxide from the same water bath 8)I looked for any oxygen bubbles rising up in the test tube and measured the rise using a ruler 9)I repeated the above steps with 350 Celcius temperature. 10)I repeated the above steps with 350 Celcius temperature. 11)I allowed the test tube contents to cool down before disposing off the liquid waste into the sink with plenty of water and the solid waste contents carefully into the appropriate bin. 12)I rinsed all apparatus used and dried them for future use.Results of Experiment 1: It was observed that with 100 C, the temperature was too low and there was not enough heat for Catalase to cataly se the reaction well. At 350C temperature, the bubbles produced froth and it appeared like all the enzymes were catalyzing reactios. When the temperature rose to 500C, the bubbles went down, indicating that the temperature was too high, resulting in a breakdown of the enzyme called denaturation. The results when plotted resulted in a bell shaped curve. As temperature increases so to does the kinetic energy of the enzyme and substrate molecules which randomly collide.The frequency of collisions increases as the temperature increases thus initially increasing the rate of reaction. This occurs up to a maximum rate of reaction and the temperature at which the maximum rate of reaction is reached is referred to as the optimum temperature. Beyond the optimum temperature, increasing temperature increases the kinetic energy of the molecules to the point that the three-dimensional shape of the enzyme can be lost. Thus the shape of its active site changes and can no longer bind to the substrat e, reducing the rate of reaction beyond the optimum temperature.