Christopher Morley Essay

On Christopher Morley’s â€Å"On Laziness†, he presents the topic of laziness, persuading his audience about the allure indolence through rhetorical effect and appeal to human nature. Slothfulness, which is typically regarded as a weakness or sin, is transformed into a means to â€Å"enlightened† living using rhetorical effect. As an essayist on laziness, Morley presents his subject to the audience in the didactic and amicable tone, using a sophisticated dictation to provide style. Morley advertises the attractiveness of laziness by appealing to some of society’s greatest desire: relief from responsibility, respect, happiness, and enlightenment. Similar to the styles of propagandist advertisers in unSpun, in his essay Chris Morley is able to guarantee the readers something valuable for nothing, or rather from doing nothing. As the common man, the writer achieves this scheme by being able to communicate with the common man, knowing their own traits and quims for his own. The tone of â€Å"On Laziness† is shrewd, yet friendly, like a wise mentor spreading his doctrines to benefit his pupils. Morley sluggish philosophy is a relative ideology, seen in even contemporary society today, i.e. â€Å"Hakuna Matata,† the popularized Swahili phrase (made famous from The Lion King,) directly translating, â€Å"No worries.† In addition, in spite of the vintage publication date (1920s), Morley use of prosaic anecdotes can be identified with the common man of any decade, â€Å"the bustling man†¦ who is asked to solve the problems of other people and neglect his own.† â€Å"People respect laziness.† In this statement, indolence’s character is established and given an irrefutable, and admirable reputation. Everything knows about laziness, but this essay rather done condoning it, celebrates this human trait by exclaiming how the happiest men are often the laziest. Morley uses articulate vocabulary in his diction, using the eloquence of his speech to manipulate the audience into believing that the subject to whom he presents is as sophisticated and intelligent as his language. Christopher Morley further achieves his purpose by employing rhetorical effect, the means of persuasive speech that is established through linguistic appeals, logos- logic; ethos- character; and pathos emotion; Christopher emphasizes on the two latter rhetoric aspects, ethos and pathos. â€Å"Doctor Johnson, who was one if the greatest philosophers, was lazy.† Simply by mentioning the title, â€Å"Doctor†, Morley immediately establishes credibility, because who wouldn’t trust a doctor? Also, it is noticeable to see how Morley instantly links philosophy with laziness, inspiring a type of revered thoughtfulness that is linked with philosophers. Additionally, the â€Å"immortal Biography,† just like the Bible or the Torah or the Quran, merely capitalizing a letter creates a reverence relatable to sacred texts. â€Å"One should be careful to distinguish laziness from dignified repose.† Through quoting the words of O. Henry, the essayist further establishes ethos, connecting his own concept in a shared conviction with that a famous and talented writer. â€Å"On Laziness† also appeals to pathos in some of society’s most desired objectives, enlightenment, happiness, and relaxation. In an almost marketing sales- esque pitch, the writer implies that one’s state of torpor, which is attainable into any human psyche, can guarantee these qualities. Christopher Morley’s essay, â€Å"On Laziness,† rebuttals the dubiousness purpose of languor, showing the audience how this subject can eliminate the stress and trouble in our lives, by simply expanding on what we’ve naturally experienced and long for once again. This syntax of this document appeals to some of denizen’s longing to become enlightenment philosophers, laziness being such an enticing road to becoming so without actually doing any walking. The â€Å"acquired laziness,† though matter how much of an oxymoron it may sound like, is by Morley’s definition, a determined way of life, not by lack of strength or resolution, but as a premeditated choice.

Relativist Morality Is Unfair Discuss

Relativist Morality is unfair discuss Relativist morality could be seen as unfair, when looked at closely and seen from critics’ point of view it becomes clear that it is easy to question perhaps because of its weakness as a moral system. The weakness could somewhat be perceived as making Relativist morality unfair. A relativist cannot pass judgement but yet to be true to their name ‘relativist’ they would be practising ‘do not pass judgement’ thus they are preaching to others that they should not do something in order for others to follow relativism. This concludes that relativism is self – refuting because a concept of relativism has been broken in order to follow it. This could be seen as unfair because to put relativist morality into practice would involve relativists telling an individual what to do, regarding personal idea raises the question ‘ if being relativist means you are able to break a rule you live by, then it is not fair in terms of my attitudes to ethical understanding. However it could be said that it’s not unfair as its one thing that relativists ask people to do in order to consider living from a relativist’s point of view. In real life relativism would be extremely hard to live by in all situations, and again the idea of unfairness can be applied. If for example a relativist lived in a society that refuses to punish an individual that kills a child, then they are entitled to not like this as it is their opinion but but  they are not obliged to judge the abusers actions as unjust. It is apparent that killing a child is unjust and wrong but yet a relativist has no right to declare the murderer as guilty of wrongdoing, this rise a question ‘If we are certain that murder of a child is wrong, then how can relativism exists? ’ How can it be fair to not be able to label something seen as cruel , as unjust and thus wrong how can it be possible to not see this as unjust? And how is this fair on the victim? That their death was in fact not wrong and not unjust because the actions were committed subject to the perpetrator’s moral understanding of what is right and good or because their society claims that this is right and good. Relativists see no universal absolutes so nothing is universally bad or is it universally good thus this means that blame and praise would become nonexistent because praise comes from doing something good but without good this would be virtually impossible because good would not be judged and therefore it could not be praised in a moral sense. This again could be seen s unfair because it could an act of kindness but yet there is no absolute good in the act for example helping an elderly person with their shopping this is neither seen as good or bad and therefore no praise could come of doing what is believed to be good. Relativists can’t make charges of unfairness, despite what they may feel personally, say the relativist thought that it was unfair for Nazi Germany to slaughter many Jews , but Germany thought these actions to be correct because it is relative to their society then Germanys would say they were being fair and thus must the Relativist. Many individuals will question this because these people that were slaughtered were innocent but yet a relativist would have see these acts as fair, it does not seem fair to have an opinion that these acts were unfair but have to agree that they were fair. How is this view fair for the millions of innocent Jews that were slaughtered?. There would be no prison if moral relativism was to be put into practise because if there is not universal good or bad, then no law would be in place because nobody can decipher the truth thus punishment would be nonexistent because there is no need for anybody to be punished if no one has the right to pass judgement on whether their actions are right or wrong and the reason for imprisonment is because someone has committed crime thus there is no reason for prison to exists however then how would society function, in a recognizable fair way for example the idea of shoplifting this would not be controlled neither would happenings such as rape. This would not be fair because individuals could hurt or steal because it was their moral understanding of good etc so harm would not be seen as bad and neither would theft and the country would therefore not be able to run because people would live how they pleased subject to their moral understanding. This type of life for people would not be fair with no guidelines people would be free do what they like causing pain to other psychically and emotionally and this would not be fair. In conclusion it can be said that relativist morality would not be fair because of the complications it would have when followed correctly and how difficult it would be followed properly. It would cause many problems in reality that would not be fair on individuals.

One of the most acknowledged artists, Tony Cragg Essay

One of the most acknowledged artists, Tony Cragg - Essay Example The essay "One of the most acknowledged artists, Tony Cragg" discusses the Tony Cragg's career in arts and visual communication and analyzes his work, philosophy, and interactions with the wider society. Tony Cragg started his career in Britain as a laboratory assistant. His main duties in the laboratory involved testing, manipulating and developing various categories of rubber. Cragg took these duties while he was still an art student and therefore he utilized his artistic skill in all experiments that he conducted. Using his drawing techniques, he was able to express his experiment to an understandable level. His background in science is also considered to have contributed to his imagination and creativity. In 1970, Cragg joined the Wimbledon College of Art before he proceeded to the royal college in London. After completing his studies at Wimbledon, Cragg moved Wuppertal in Germany where he continued with his work in visual art. While in Germany Cragg utilized found materials such as broken glass, toys, plastics and metal pieces to produce his works. In 1980, tony Cragg began using bronze and iron as his major artistic materials. He also used other materials such as wood, polystyrene, and steel to cast bronze and iron. Due to complexities in his work, Cragg preferred producing all his sculptors using his own hands. Cragg had a team of assistants who assisted him with his daily work and requirement in his studio. His early forms took from his experiences and encounter with experimental work.

A Stake in Advocating for Proper Working Condition for Women Research Paper

A Stake in Advocating for Proper Working Condition for Women - Research Paper Example It is unethical for factories to mistreat workers at the expense of amassing huge profit returns. The government should put in place watertight solutions to solve this problem. To start with, it should set independent monitoring agencies to ensure the working conditions are in accordance with laws that protect workers. This agency should make sure factories provide clean working and accommodation environment. Sleeping places for workers such as dormitories are not only unhealthy but also outdated. This monitoring agency should advocate for a dismantling of squatter huts near the factory premises, which Barbara portrays in her article. This is because factory employees are not squatters. They are people who deserve respect because of their enormous contribution to the growth of these huge factories. The workers should not crowd and squeeze in these small huts and dormitories. This is because it is easier for the workers to perish in case of an outbreak of deadly diseases or infernos. In case fire breaks in these small huts and dormitories, it can cause many deaths. This is because there the exits have huge heaps of sweaters and other garments. Therefore, the monitoring agency should advise the government to compel factory owners to provide decent housing and living for their workers. Barbara reports that workers in Korean textile industries live in poor lit rooms. On top of this, generated noises characterize the working environment. This is to cut down communication among the factory workers (Ehrenreich 1). This action is not only barbaric but also inhuman. It fosters lack of respect on the part of factory owners to their employees.

What Foreign Pressure Could Do And What It Could Not Do In Japan Essay

What Foreign Pressure Could Do And What It Could Not Do In Japan - Essay Example It had declined to yield in several other instances. However, because of its high dependency on America for economical stability, Japan was keen to grant America what it demanded at some point. During the SII talks, the negotiators tackled several topics. These talks occurred on the same sitting and this makes it obvious that political changes did not affect its stand on many issues. The negotiations lasted for a year during which Japan defended its policies against the American criticism. America presented its compilation of demands to Japan. It is worth noting that Japan did not show any signs that it would cooperate on any of the issues under discussion. In the end, Japan agreed on American demands concerning macroeconomics and Japanese distribution system. Japan also yielded to some compromise concerning its land policy. Regarding their business practices, Japan made minimal concessions. However, Japan completely objected to make any policy change regarding the keiretsu business group. America had applied uniform pressure with threats to force Japan to make readjustments in most of their policies. However, Japan’s compromise to some demands and objection to others was clear evidence that foreign pressure cannot exert changes to some of its policies. One fact became evident: Japan has its limit in conceding to foreign demands. All the demands from the American side aimed at penetrating the Japanese market. The American government wanted the government to invest its savings on infrastructure and other public spending projects. The land policy issue sought to force the Japanese government to reduce the cost of urban land through change of tax policies. This would enable American investors to venture...Japan has had many trade policies that America feels are very restrictive. America has great interest in penetrating into the trade scene with Japan. Japan’s decision on whether to yield to the pressure has highly depended on its domestic situations . The author of the book helps the reader analyze how much foreign pressure can achieve in Japan. In addition, the author brings out new ways in which the American government could have put into place to achieve its demands. The author highlights two case studies in the book that help the reader understand the effect of foreign pressure on Japan (Schoppa 10). One of these studies is the ‘Structural Impediments initiatives talks’ headed by President Bush. Earlier in 1988, America had described the unfairness in trade relationship with Japan. The book elaborates the American demands at the time and the threats coming along with the demands. Foreign pressure has had immense results in Japan several times. From history, policy change in Japan comes under the influence of foreign pressure. It is clear that foreign pressure did not prove to have the potential to force Japan to change all of its policies. According to Schoppa, it is possible that the negotiation tactics of the two governments were different.

Exercise and Good life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Exercise and Good life - Essay Example Activity class may appear to be all about physical movement and exercise but in reality, it helps us in exploring ourselves and take initiatives to make ourselves better people. The good life is all about being content and experiencing joy in little things. It is about not having new things but appreciating what we already have. If we tend to find joy in things, it will be a short-lived happiness since things become old; get expired and their trends change. However, happiness that stems from within makes every day of life a good one. A good life is supposed to have a purpose and meaning quite similar to an acting class. I expect activity class to not only contribute to my physical health but also character building. This is precisely the reason why everything we do in our lives should have meanings. Purposeless life lacks direction and will to do good for others and society. A desire to have a good life motivates one to have some roles to play at work, with family, friends, and commu nity. Accomplishments in these roles through struggle and movement leads to self-satisfaction and joy in turn. It is also important to note that having a good life means causing no or limited harm to those around us; be it humans or nature itself. Struggling for this will also require an effort e.g. removing stone or garbage from the street as it may hurt others. A good life is something which motivates us to do better things for ourselves and society. Doing so requires goodwill and physical activity.

My Cultural Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My Cultural Identity - Essay Example Culture on the other hand refers to the beliefs, language, norms, values, customs, diet, roles, dress, knowledge, and skills and other things that individuals learn that forms the way of life of any given community or society (Browne 31).The objective of this paper is to explore my personal cultural identity. Below is a diagram representing the elements of my cultural identity. I am a Caucasian Jews, who hails from the Jews community on the shores of Deal, New Jersey. All my family members are all Jews, and as such practice Judaism as a religion. What makes me a Jews is the fact that I was born to a Jewish family that is very religious and believe in the existence of one God. My family at all times has kept teaching me to emulate and practice Judaism as a religion. As a Jewish, I believe in Torah, a text which was given to the Israelites though Prophet Moses. At our place of worship, which is the known as the synagogue, one thing that one can never miss to find is the Hebrew Bible an d the Talmud. These are the two types of bibles that leaders (rabbis) read to the people. In fact, I have both the Talmud and a Hebrew Bible that was given to me by my parents to assist me follow the way of God. In terms of language, I am bilingual and as such speak both Hebrew and English. Hebrew in this case is the language usually spoken by my parents and grandparents who speak it very fluently. This is because this is the distinct dialects that a majority of us, as Jews speak, which we borrowed from our ancestors in Israel. Nevertheless, I have learnt how to speak English from my friends and at school where English is the dominant language used in teaching and social interaction based on the fact that US is a diverse country. In fact, at one time, I was at the verge of forgetting the Hebrew language but any time I come home or go for Sabbath, it is the Hebrew language that is mainly used something that has made me continue to learn of the language. For example, at Sabbath, all t he bibles used are written in Hebrew as our religion dictates. This implies that failure to understand the language is seen as a disobedience to our ancestors and cultural heritage. Nevertheless, some of my colleagues, who are also Jews, speak Russian fluently, probably because they originated from Russia. The fact that I speak Hebrew indeed distinguishes me from other Americans who speak a different language from Hebrew. My family is also very rich, something th at I see has made me whom I am today. Using the vast resources and wealth they posses, they were able to take me to a Jewish private school. At school, only the Hebrews that formed a majority of the students. Also, it was clear to me that almost every one of us came from a wealthy family something which is common among the Jewish people. In fact, after that, my parents decided to register me for a degree course, which I am currently pursuing. It is not only me who has attained this level of education but many people from th e Jewish community implying how much Jewish people value education. I believe that the first appearance that one sees of me are the cloths I wear on daily basis. As a Jews, my tradition spells out the kind of clothing that we are supposed to be wearing depending on different occasions such as Shabbat,

Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs in Texas Dissertation

Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs in Texas - Dissertation Example The paper tells that the adoption of the Texas Safe Schools Act in 1995, stipulated that all public district schools in Texas provide Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs). The main idea behind the introduction of the DAEPs was to provide an alternative education program for the students who had been temporarily removed from the normal educational setting for disciplinary reasons as explained by. The agency further points that Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs offer different environment for the students who commit criminal offenses outlined in Chapter 37 of the Texas Educational Code (TEC) or almost any disciplinary violation. These are in line with recommendations of Federal Gun Free School Act of 1994 which required all states in the country to implement zero tolerance policies to contain the perceived increased violence in schools across the country. Introduction of DAEPs in Texas as explained by was aimed at providing an alternative to suspension or expul sion of students involved in indiscipline cases at school. Suspension as asserted by (Levin, 2006 p. 5) is highly disruptive of the learning of students. DAEPs provide a temporary stay for student to help in behaviour change through mandatory or discretionary referral. Although mandatory placement is in line with the provisions of Chapter 37 of TEC, discretionary placement as argued by is usually a violation of the school districts’ code of conduct. ... Discretionary placement records the highest number of students in the program with (Reyes, 2007) reporting that in 2004, 82 percent of the referrals into the program was discretionary while 18 % were mandatory placement. Currently, the student population in Texas has risen to 4.8 million students which have also been reflected in changed number of students in DAEPs. This has created constrains in the effectiveness of the program since the student to teacher ratio is not favourable. To effectively discharge the envisioned mandate, DAEPs needs to implement some best practices and observe some standards as explained by (Texas Education Agency, 2007). The agency argued that a relevant curriculum should be adopted to guarantee the educational and social needs of the students. Moreover, (Texas Education Agency, 2007) recommends that these programs must have adequate and dedicated teachers coupled with parent involvement. In addition, the program offers counselling to entrants and their fam ilies. This paper will basically set to answer the question of how the population of DAEPs changed between 1999 and 2000 and evaluate whether these changes reflect changes in the broader student population. It will also review literature on the advent of DAEPs and the policy framework governing DAEPs in Texas. The paper will also explore the best practices for DAEPs and the impact of the program on the referrals. It will then propose changes that could be implemented to the program to make it a success in transforming the lives of the entrants. Definition of Disciplinary Alternative Education Program As early as 1970s, district schools in United States started offering alterative education programs for students perceived to be at a high risk

Monastic Art Essay Example for Free

Monastic Art Essay Monastic Art is subdivided in two genres the monastic ascetic art form and the aesthetic art form (Sekules 77). The portrayal of saints in the monasteries is a common theme and narrows it down to the whole religious visionaries and deities which produced those visions. The entire monastic sphere was dedicated to placing oneself in a position to receive sacred communication from God; hence it is not surprising that monasteries and convents heavily sought for visual representation of their favorite saints or God. In medieval times, monastic art was commonly etched on ceilings, walls, and frescoes to draw the viewer into a realm of holiness to enrich the artistic and religious experience. As aforementioned monastic life could either be ascetic which falls in line with the austere lives of the monks or it could be highly beautified which displayed all the wealth and glamor of the Medieval Catholic Church. Most monastic art are derived from the Byzantine model were paintings were very embellished, attractive, symbolic, and magnificent in size. At the Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas, Spain, there are the Berenguela knitted cushion covers and skillfully decorated gloves, overlaid with gold and scarlet (1275). This highly decorated covers are in memoriam of Prince Fernando de la Cerda (Shadis 168). Benedictine Monasteries The Rule of St. Benedict required them to withdraw from the world into a communal life organized around prayer so that their spiritual inclinations were not directed to other areas of conformity† (Sekules 61). Because of this policy art work conforms to the standards of the monastery. Jesus Christ, Catholic saints, monasteries, the virgin Mary, holy mother and child paintings are all regular images of the medieval monastery. Benedictine monasteries boasted a wide array of art such as An Illumination of Stephen Harding (1225) at the Abbey at Citeaux. In this classic, monastic painting there are two models of monasteries, handed by two Benedictine monks, one of which is the Englishman Stephen Harding himself, which are delivered up to the virgin Mary to sanction or reject. Benedictine cloisters featured â€Å"inscriptions in windows, stonework, paintings, and manuscripts† (Luxford 11). This type of veneration is called Cisternian illumination where there is a mystic connection and communication with the divine. Golden auras and golden thrones with elaborate architectured monasteries characterize this work. Another famous Benedictine art form is Benedict of Nursia (1435) displayed at the Abbey at Florence, Italy. This painting done by Frey Angelico exhibits the simple face of St. Benedict with a holy halo encircling his head, in a grave, solemn, pensive mood, similar to what one would expect in a monastic setting. Women in Power-Medieval Feminism: The Empowered Woman Before Mary Wollenstonecraft even crafted the Declaration of Women (1791), the embryonic signs of an emerging feminist movement were already visible. Due to religious, social, and cultural dogmas and restraints, women were confined to the private sphere, unable to take part in the activities and pursuits of men. Nevertheless, a few women have propelled themselves and unwittingly their female counterparts to a whole new dimension in the Middle Ages. The woman is a recurrent depiction in Medieval Art and Architecture, not to mention in an age where in the Marian cult (and even in the Greco-Latin mythology) was venerated as goddess, saint, and intercessor. Personification of places, whether cities or countries especially as regal or armed women, are one of the oldest forms of power symbolism†(Sekules 13). Several countries have depicted women at war as their national icons for example Roma, Germania, Brittanica, Sclavenia, Columbia, Athena, Italia Turrita, Hispania, Polonia, Europa etc. The women are either portrayed as martial, royal, or both. Medieval art demonstrated the empowerment of women, where women sometimes moved out of the home space and actively engaged in business, art, warfare, and politics. Joan of Arc One of the women who stands out is Joan of Arc. Historically, Joan of Arc is lauded as a liberator of France who bravely warred against England to set free her countrymen who labored under the British yoke. â€Å"Quite apart from her saintly character, Joan’s credibility as a military leader may have gained greater currency thanks to the classical tradition that personified the authority of war in female form† (Sekules 165). Art enables social criticism. Martin Le Franc sides with Joan of Arc unique personality both as a feminist and as a woman. Through his medieval portrayal of Joan of Arc both as a heroine, military hero, and spiritual icon, he embraces her as a daring woman. â€Å"Martin Le Franc in Le Champion des Dames, a work directly inspired by the quarrel about Le Roman de la Rose, takes Joan’s part against her detractors. Their arguments focus on her belligerence, her transvestism, and her condemnation by the Church† (Warner 220). In the late-Medieval painting â€Å"Le Champion des Dames† (1450), one observes Joan of Arc holding two white flags and flanked by them in a biblical setting. Although critics say that this portrayal is anachronistic, it voices volumes in asserting the sanctity of a patriot and prophetess who received visions and supernatural messages. â€Å"Christine was an admirer of Joan (of Arc’s) achievements and a defender when she needed it† (Sekules 165). Joan of Arc, a powerful woman, inspired another medieval woman in power, Christine de Pisan, who highly esteemed Joan as a valiant, holy, and still feminine woman. Christine De Pisan Another medieval woman which broke from the social norms and launched out into the space of art, literature, and religion is Christine de Pisan (1365-1434). One could argue that because of her aristocratic status she enjoyed many more liberties than the average woman of the Middle Ages; however open prejudice and misogynist ideologies against the woman existed and was encouraged against both the lower and upper classed woman. Christine de Pisan was literate, cultivated her artistic talent, and was mistress of her household (Christine de Pisan). Although today these characteristics seem ordinary, back in the medieval times, it was a rarity for a woman, even an aristocratic one to be qualified with all these talents. Christine de Pizan was born in Italy but married to a Frenchman. De Pisan was a prolific author as she produced several essays, poems, books, ballads, and epistles. The art piece of â€Å"Christine de Pisan Writing† is not as common as it seems for women were often relegated non-scholastic tasks for the general public deemed them inferior. In the depiction of De Pisan writing, the setting is clearly at an abbey or monastery. De Pizan was also the breadwinner of her family following her husband’s passing; therefore she emerged as one of the few women who made a livelihood from writing. Numerous medieval portraits of Christine de Pisan exist where she is either consulting with people in power such as Joan of Arc (Christine de Pisan Livres des Faits des Armes et de Chevalerie, 1409), diligently writing at an abbey (Christine de Pisan Writing), or educating her others (Christine de Pisan Instructing Her Son and Christine de Pisan Lecturing a Group of Men). Convents or nunneries in the medieval period. It can be argued that nunneries and convents â€Å"offered women an element of freedom† (Medieval Convent or Nunnery). At the convents, the nuns had most commodities at their disposal and were not bound to family responsibilities, for here they concentrated on God and pursued holiness in the secluded religious life. Nuns were also enfranchised to vote in an abbess or mother superior, who in turn would govern the affairs of the female community. Since medieval times, the nunnery also was fitted with hospitals, gardens, chapels, dormitories, libraries, and a school. As a result, nuns had the unique opportunity to be holistically educated and independent. This peculiar branch of female liberation fosters artistic exploration. Art work often has appeared at convents where nuns have drawn or invented masterpieces such as †¦ Second to Nun Paintings Medieval paintings also tended to focus on holy women: whether they be goddesses or cloistered nuns and mothers. One major medieval masterpiece shows Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), a nun of St. Benedict of wrote books, plays, sermons, and poetry; practiced medicine, and functioned as advisor to monarchs and popes. Hildegard is indeed a medieval and modern-day feminist who was not afraid to hold and wield power even among men folk. A celebrated illustration of her is represented in Illumination from the Liber Scivias, 1151 where she receives a vision and transcribes it as a deity reveals it to her. This dynamic woman dictates the divine messages in a book called The Scivias. This portrait conveys the reality of the enlightened woman in all spheres. She too can be an instrument not only for familial purposes but in multifaceted way, contributing to society, religion, and culture. References: Christine de Pizan http://www. kirjasto. sci. fi/pizan. htm. Retrieved 06 May 2010 Les Enluminures Presents Women in Medieval Art http://www. lesenluminures. com/womencatalogue. pdf. Retrieved 06 May 2010 Luxford, Julian M. The Art and Architecture of English Benedictine Monasteries 1300-1540 A Patronage History. Boyell Press, United Kingdom, 2008. Medieval Convent or Nunnery http://www. middle-ages. org. uk/medieval-convent. nunnery. htm. Retrieved 06 May

Research In Motion Essay Example for Free

Research In Motion Essay Research In Motion (RIM) is most famously knows for its smart phone device Blackberry. Blackberry, when first introduced in 1999, took the corporate market by storm because of its capability of storing and managing e-mails along with other professional tools. Later the introduction of Black Berry Messenger (BBM) was another successful addition and made it famous among the non-corporate user class all around the globe. From its inception to the introduction of Blackberry and until today, RIM has had various challenges in terms of safeguarding its intellectual property and took some steps to counteract those problems which I will be discussing in this paper. 1.What were some of the challenges that RIM faced to protect its intellectual property, and how did RIM handle those challenges? The first challenge for RIM was in 2001 when it claimed that its competitor Glenayre Electronics infringed on its patent and charged dilution, unfair competition, and false advertising (1). As a result RIM sued them over using its patented mailbox integration technique that was exclusive to its Blackberry smartphone device which was later settled in their favor (2). Another lawsuit filed by RIM was against Good Technology in 2002. RIM alleged that Good was infringing on four of its patents. The first is for a method and apparatus to remotely control gateway functions in a wireless data communications network. The second relates to a method and system for loading an application program on a device. The third relates to a method and system for transmitting data files between computers in a wireless data communications environment. And the fourth relates to a mobile device that is optimized for use with thumbs (3). Finally in 2004 Good Technology signed a settlement with RIM under which it will give RIM a lump-sum payment during its current quarter and ongoing quarterly royalties. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed (4). Later in 2006, RIM was sued by mobile e-mail provider Visto Corporation that RIM violated four of its patents. The patents in question relate to the accessing and synchronizing of information over a network and are fundamental to the BlackBerry service (5). After a long battle of three years, in 2009 RIM agreed to pay $267.5 million to settle this dispute adding to a costly series of intellectual-property purchases (6). The company spent more than $1 billion in the past two years on intangible assets, such as patents. It booked part of the cost of the Visto settlement, which gave them a lifetime license to some Visto patents and legal possession of others, as an acquisition of intangible assets (6). Another big event was the RIM-Motorolla lawsuits in 2008 when Motorolla filed a lawsuit against RIM for using its patented technology but in reply RIM sued back Motorolla. RIM filed the lawsuit for demanding exorbitant royalties on patents that were essential to RIMs business. Besides being accused of anti-competitive conduct, Motorola was also accused of violating nine different patents and for breaking a 2003 agreement by refusing to agree to new terms beyond January 2008. Adding injury to lawsuit, RIM also claimed that Motorolas licensing fees were due to declining fortunes of its handset business (7). This long battle came to an end when both companies settled out of court. Under the Agreement, Motorola and RIM will benefit from a long-term, intellectual property cross-licensing arrangement involving the parties receiving cross-licenses of various patent rights, including patent rights relating to certain industry standards and certain technologies, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 802.11 and wireless email. In addition, the parties will transfer certain patents to each other (8). 2.What were some of the industry factors that influenced RIM? Industry factors that influenced RIM are Competition, Scale and Future (9). Patents, copyrights and trademarks help a firm safeguard its intellectual assets giving it an edge in the market and enabling to stay competitive in the market. From the lawsuits discussed above, we can see that just in 10 years on inception, RIM had over seven patent related issues for its technology. In technological field, a patent enables a firm to bank on its technology by not allowing other firms to use and produce it. So it enables the firm with the patent to have exclusive right to that technology and have a competitive advantage. When a firm’s technology is successful, patent enables that firm to exploit from it and hence expand their firms scale by securing a larger consumer base leading to a better bright future for the firm. 3.Apply as many TCOs as you can to the RIM. There are quite a few TCOs that can be applied to RIM. Competence Enhancing and Component Innovation applies very well to RIM. Looking at the introduction of Blackberry in 1999, after 14 years we still find them have a strong demand among the smartphone consumer base. So RIM has constantly been improving its blackberry phones keeping them up to date by providing new features that keep the consumer base attracted. Similarly if we look at introduction of features like e-mail service and BBM for blackberry, they are following the component innovation ideology discussed in the course. On the other hand, RIM also follows the concept Network Externalities. BBM can be a good example to support this. Anyone with a blackberry anywhere in the world can send a free message to the other blackberry user using the blackberry network. BBM is actually one of the features’ that has protected Blackberry against I-phone. Tying to BBM, RIM also follows the policy of Trade Secret because no one other than the corporation itself has access to the BBM data. RIM has gone to an extent that recently in India, even the government was not allowed to access the BBM data and after a 19 month service ban the government, RIM finally allowed them to have access but through a different server (10).

Importance of Narrative in CGI Films

Importance of Narrative in CGI Films This essay will look at the importance of narrative in two CG animated films which are Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Hironobu Sakaguchi, 2001) and The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004). The essay focuses specifically on the narrative and the spectacle of the films and how through the cinematic medium, they help each other to deliver a visual story across to the audience. The essay will discuss if a solid storyline is needed for a successful feature length animated film or are the animated films just a platform for spectacular imagery. This essay will discuss topics such as the different narrative theories and how the majority of contemporary films have a similar narrative structure, how films have become more sophisticated in terms of raw video footage being just one element necessary to complete a single shot in a film. It will also discuss modern film techniques and how it can help the story being told. The essay will first focus on the various theories of narrative and a brief history of the spectacle of cinema before moving on to the analysis of my chosen case studies. People have been communicating since the day they have been born. From gossiping, bed time stories to little white lies people have been subconsciously or consciously telling stories in some form of a narrative structure. By this I do not mean that all human discourse takes the form of a true story itself but the elements of the basic narrative structure such as having, a beginning, middle and an end are present. Vast majority of mainstream films have the classic three stage act structure of the 19th century stage melodrama, set-up, conflict and resolution as the basic linear structure.â€Å"†¦time is experienced as linear (past-present-future).† From starting to read this essay to the end time has passed. Narratives that have manifested itself into other forms of medium more or less have a tendency to follow this fact. Dreams, flashbacks, characters or a narrator reciting earlier events or future events which are due to happen are eccentric elements of breaking up the linear time format. Hence the arrangement of the plot being the story or as described by the Russian formalist, Viktor Shklovsky, fibula (story) and syuzhet (plot). A prominent example of this is in such films as The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995) or Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) where the plot and story are quite different, the story not being presented chronologically. Narration, the plot’s way of distributing story information in order to achieve specific effects. Narration is the moment by moment process that guides us in building the story out of the plot. Re-arranging the plot of narratives can be a powerful technique as it can easily create suspense, curiosity, fear, satisfaction, motivation to know more of the situation. Film as a narrative medium, more or less does have closure of story or events, as in the end order is established, stability has been restored. In other words restoring the balance, a theory concluded by Tzvetan Todorov, a Bulgarian structuralist. Todorov reported that the majority of narratives have the same structure, i.e: in a linear storyline, initially all the forces are in balance (equilibrium) and by some event or another the forces are disturbed and majority of the storyline involving around further complications of the initial situation at hand and eventually the balance being restored in the end, even though this balance is not the same as it was at the start of the narrative. When speaking of events happening or that have already happened to disturb the equilibrium, I am referring to character driven and event driven plots or moments. Major film blockbusters tend to follow this pattern with a high tendency of closure with the notion of appealing to the mass audience. This concept of commercial aesthetics may or may not be frowned upon by directors, producers or the script writers but I can comfortably agree with the fact that major film studios highly consider what will or wont appeal to the audience, how much funding they are willing to provide, generating revenues, running time, sequels and prequels and this greatly effects the quality of the storytelling and spectacle of the films, thus the director’s or producer’s true vision of the film not being fulfilled. There are many theorists in different fields of study who have studied to devise logical ways of thinking about narratives. The main theorists I have looked at are Carl G. Jung, a Swiss physiatrist who studied Archetypes and their influences in western storytelling, Claude Là ©vi-Strauss, a French anthropologist studied that narratives were made up of binary oppositions and that key terms in narratives had differences. Joseph Campbell, an American professor studied mythology and religion. His works have been published in a book, ‘Hero With A Thousand Faces.’ He described the term monomyth, an idea which he outlined some archetypal patterns that he realised. He focuses on the role of the hero and the various events that the hero can go through. Gustav Freytag, a German critic suggested a method for representing and analysing plots through a simple diagram of a triangle. The triangle highlighted the setup, conflict and resolution of conventional narrative structures. Starting from the left side (setup), going up the triangle would suggest the apex of the crisis (conflict) and falling back down to the end of the story or the equilibrium being restored (resolution). Meanwhile going across the bottom of the triangle would be the time passing by in relation to the events in the story. This triangle is an adaptation of Aristotle’s work on narrative structures. Aristotle’s work has been collected together into a book called The Poetics which is a series of lectures and workings, which essentially sums up that â€Å"there are causes and effects that occur over time.† Tzvetan Todorov and Viktor Shklovsky I have mentioned before as theorists in narrative and finally Vladimir Propp. They all came to the conclusion of their own theories of narrative however, it will be most useful to concentrate on two particular theorists whose works compliments each others quite well. †¦all conventional films are characterized by the same narrative structure by the work of Tzvetan Todorov and Vladimir Propp. The majority of mainstream films have a similar narrative structure and the works of Todorov and Propp are evidently clear within these narratives. Vladimir Propp, a Russian critic and folklorist analysed many folk tales to see if they shared any common attributes and structures. He concluded that there are eight main characters such as ‘the dispatcher’ or ‘the donor’ and that there are 31 narrative functions such as ‘villain is punished’ or ‘the hero is pursued.’ His analysis also mentioned that not all these are evident in all narratives. Todorov and Propps theories have been influential in modern narratives and work fluently with my chosen case studies and I will apply their theories in more detail later. One last person worth mentioning is Christopher Booker, an English journalist who published the book, ‘The Seven Basic Plots.’ This book outlines that all narratives fall into one of the seven various forms of storytelling. These plots are overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy and rebirth. These plots all had alternative darker versions, except for tragedy which already is the dark version. Furthermore two new plots were added outside this list, rebellion against the one and mystery. Both my case studies fall under the plot, overcoming the monster which I will briefly look at later when analysing my case studies. â€Å"The pleasure of looking – scopophilia has been central to cinema since the beginning† Film is a visual storytelling medium. More people are keen on using their eyes to visualise the story as the audience willingly lose suspension of disbelief, sitting in a film theatre staring at a flat wall for two hours as the story unfolds before their eyes. Before I discuss some of the contemporary film techniques of storytelling I will briefly focus on the ‘cinema of attractions’ an expression used to describe the early cinema by film historian Tom Gunning. As technology began to evolve over the 20th century, the moving image was born. People were overwhelmed by this form of medium and what technology could do thereafter. It was all about the ‘wow’ factor, the look of the film. Since most films during this time were unedited sequences of footage, the narrative was not an important issue. Film makers were more fascinated with the possibilities of this particular medium and capturing the ‘real’ and what they could do with it. There were people like the Lumiere Brothers (Auguste Marie (1862-1954) and Louis Jean (1864-1948)) who successfully captured the ‘real-life’ imitation of film. One famous example is the short film called LArrivà ©e dun train en gare de la Ciotat (1895). When this film was shown people were so shocked and in fear that the train was going to run them down they fled the theatre. This was a turning point in film history as the Lumiere Brothers inspired so many other film makers. One particular other magician turned film maker was Georges Melies (1861-1938). He was another French film pioneer who made over a thousand films, the most memorable ones being Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon, 1902). His views on film making was not to mimic ‘real-life’ but to explore other possibilities, using the camera to subvert what the camera sees into abstractness or creating illusions. He discovered the dissolve effect by chance when his equipment jammed. He explored the ‘magical’ possibilities of the camera and other techniques such as split screen techniques and stop motion photography. He was a pioneer in cinematic special effects and also a film maker who inspired the likes of Jan Svankmajer, Terry Gilliam, etc. Films made during this period were only a couple of minutes long and over the years up until the present films have got longer, in the nineties being an hour and a half but now the average running time is at least two hours, which I definitely support the idea of, since we at least as the audience will be getting our moneys worth. This is not to say that quantity is more essential than quality but I would like to argue the fact that film producers and directors are adding extra running time to enhance the narrative, by adding sub plots or developing characters to improve the story or explain situations or events clearly and not to extend the running time so the spectacle can be the main attraction, even though Hollywood has a tendency to refer to its films as motion pictures rather than film. This can be a signal that Hollywood is faithful to the spectacle of the moving image. A new cinema of attractions has risen, particularly within action genres, where plot and story are of less importance than the spectacle. This can be true since the action genre relies on the spectacle to deliver the film. The action genre is an area where the narrative is simply a platform for spectacle where the audience can sit back, relax and enjoy the film visually, instead of participating in the story and working out clues and problem solving the story. It is more or less the dominant element, meaning in days to come we will remember the ‘spectacle’ but might fail to remember what actually happened. Furthermore I think films in theory have to have at least a sequence where the narrative is disrupted and spectacle takes over, such as a car chase or a well choreographed fight scene. In theory the ‘cinema of attractions’ still exist to this day with the huge cinema screens with surround sounds and films still offering the spectacle as the attraction. In Russia during the Soviet Union (1920’s) spectacle was still the attraction but besides that, editing of films was also used to draw the audiences attention. Editing created powerful effects on the spectators. One particular example I would like to mention is the famous Odessa steps sequence from Sergei Eisenstein’s, Battleship Potemkin (USSR, 1925). This well known sequence is where the army restores order among the sailors and civilians of Odessa. He used a ‘montage’ type of editing to create a pulsating attraction after attraction to intensify the feeling and effect. The point I am trying to make here is that spectacle can be a potent technique in storytelling without the strong element of narrative. Editing has evolved over the years and has become an art form in itself. It can be used to clarify events, establish a location and to build up tension and emotions. Editing itself is a unique process of shots being composed together to maximise the dramatic effect of the story. It combines the mise en scene of the shot along with all the rest to make sense of the film. It is how information can be held back to the director’s content, what to reveal and what not to the audience. Filmmakers are editing in specific ways or cutting more shots out of the final film recently since the audience’s sophistication grows. This can also be referred to as restricted and unrestricted narrative. Restricted narrative is when we have limited information as to what is going on, we only know what the characters know, being it false information or not. We are told information from a first person perspective, as if we are in the films ourselves within that space. Unrestricted narrative is where we are told everything, we know things that the protagonists don’t as in a third person perspective. Editing shots in a way that one shot transitions into another giving the sense of a smooth, flowing edit is called continuity editing. This is a technique where a seamless edit takes place, this can be helpful as it can interpolate the audience into the physical space where the action is taking place. But some narratives shots require the edits to be visible to achieve a particular effect such as the Odessa steps sequence as mentioned before. In continuity editing there is rule known as the 180degrees rule. This rule takes place seamlessly also within the film. When two characters are talking, the action is shot on one specific side of the characters, being the one side or the other and the camera being placed anywhere on that side. This is just to clarify which direction the characters are facing and to establish the space in which they are in. This rule can be used for close-ups for intimate conversations and happenings or far out as we look on as spectators. Another important aspect of storytelling is mise en scene. This is a term given to describe everything involved within that particular shot. It is everything that makes up the frame, i.e: actors, dialogue, the music, diegetic material, cinematography, cg elements or as Richard Maltby describes, â€Å" arrangement of screen space as a meaningful organisation of elements† Lev Manovich a professor in visual arts, wrote an article among many, but one that I found particularly interesting was on Digital Cinema and he quotes, â€Å"Cinema is the art of the index; it is an attempt to make art out of a footprint.† He states the fact that contemporary cinema has become a platform where film-makers can edit and simulate real world actions through different forms and techniques such as CGI. Cinema has evolved from movies being mostly live footage to contemporary digital cinema where the live footage in film has become little or used as a basis for experimentation, 3d manipulation, etc. The fact that he used the expression ‘an attempt to make art out of a footprint’ in reference to raw video is an indication as how it is used as a ground element for the CG to build upon and to manipulate it until all the elements are finalised to complete the shot. How did cinema arrive at using animation in its projects? I am going to try to explain this as short and briefly as possible. Cinema was born when the moving image was created, a sequence of images, footage or hand drawn, which theoretically is animation, since a series of images give the illusion of movement, hence animation. Film makers took this new format and made films in the tendency of the ‘Lumiere style’ or the ‘Melies style’ as mentioned before, adding animation as a supplement. As technology developed, the future made digital cinema possible incorporating animation and special effects as the main essence of films while live recording was used as the basis or even reference, â€Å"hence, the production becomes just the 1st stage of post-production.† Manual construction and animation of images gave birth to cinema and slipped into the marginsonly to re-appear as the foundation of digital cinema. The history of the moving image thus makes a full circle. Born from animation, cinema pushed animation to its boundary, only to become one particular case of animation in the end. These contemporary film techniques and processes which I have just discussed are clearly evident in the two films of my choice. The first film I want to examine is Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The film is the first photorealistic computer generated film ever to be made as all the cast are life like computer generated characters. The film is set in the future and it focuses on Dr. Aki Ross and her finding of the eighth spirit, in doing so will erase the alien phantom spirits from earth who have more or less taken over the world and left a barren like wasteland. The film follows a linear narrative structure and even though the film shares the same title as the computer games it bears no reference or relation to any of the stories in the computer games. Todorov suggests that conventional narratives are structured in five stages and this film’s narrative structure seamlessly integrates within those five stages. The first stage is clearly the equilibrium, however the film starts off with an already unbalanced state, which is the world has been laid waste to an alien race. The second and third stages, is the equilibrium being disturbed by some event and the recognition of this disturbance, which also has already happened before the story has begun, in being that the aliens have crashed on planet earth, and the human population reacting to this by evacuating to gigantic like plane hangers cities around the world which are protected by some sort of special field against the threat. The majority of the film is in reference to stage four which is trying to repair the unbalance, meaning Dr. Aki Ross with the help of a special task force unit trying to find the remaining spirits. The story finishes off in the fifth and final stage where the balance is restored in the end and the alien race eradicated from earth. Final fantasy also bears a resemblance to Christopher Bookers work and his theories of the seven plots, specifically ‘overcoming the monster’. The phantoms are the great and mysterious evil which the world has fallen to. The source of threat is the phantoms. The hero is Dr Aki Ross who is armed with the seven spirits and with the help of the scientist Dr Sid, they set out to travel to the source of the evil and with some amount of struggling, finding the last spirit and finally by discovering the eighth spirit the monstrous entity is destroyed. The threat has been lifted and the world has been saved with the loss of her companions. Looking at the film, the sense of photorealistic spectacle can help intensify and value the story better particularly the scenes of the phantoms. To clarify this notion in the scene where Dr Aki Ross is having her dreams of the phantoms charging towards her, I would find it quite difficult and would feel emotionless if the CGI was ‘unrealistic’ to say the least, you wouldn’t feel threatened because they didn’t look real or menacing enough. As a serious science fiction film the visual look can help communicate the narrative across at some points in the story by making the scenes more authentic and grittier. To be honest that is the only positive aspect I can mention about the look of the film. But on the other hand a point worth mentioning is the fact that the digital actors were quite emotionless. This lead to the notion that they were artificial. In traditional animation, the facial features and body movements are extremely vivid. The motions are slightly exaggerated to give the illusion of life and personality so the movement can blend from one frame to another and that is why films that are made by pixar are so rich in character because their animators have strong backgrounds in traditional animation. Nonetheless Final Fantasy strived for life like replicas of real human people. The films photorealistic look with the serious live action feel can also be considered as its weakness. While they did look amazingly real their emotions and actions were lifeless which lead to the fact that they were artificial characters. The characters had no chemistry with each other on screen, an example is the love/romantic scene with Dr Aki Ross and Captain Gray Edwards, I did not feel like they genuinely liked each other, it was not shown successfully with their reactions or on their faces. This brings me to my next point. My initial reaction to the life like characters was mostly surprised and mesmerised. But striving for the human believability of the characters solely on the look was not enough. Maybe if the characters were created for a still image in a magazine for example it would have been suffice. But for a motion picture, the digital characters felt strange and eerie. This might be down to the fact that, the photorealism in an animated feature film was a first but I would like to believe it was down to a theory hypothesised by a Japanese roboticist, by the name of Dr. Masahiro Mori. His theory was that the more human like a robot becomes or looks like, people are fascinated by it, but when the robot borderlines human likeness the natural response by people is negative. People focus on that negativity. The human like robot is considered odd and bizarre and leads to the feeling of strangeness within the viewer. This theory was named ‘The Uncanny Valley.â₠¬â„¢ Imagine a perfectly human-looking face that suddenly grimaces or smiles in a non-human way†¦ Its profoundly disturbing when something blurs the line between human and non-human. I myself, think the story was not strong enough for the film, it does not hold up to the magnificent CGI. I personally thought it failed to articulate the plot well. It is why I think the film was a let down. Some questions were left unanswered. Why were the alien phantoms a threat to the human race? Why were the alien phantoms fighting each other on their home planet in Dr Aki Ross’s dreams? Why did their home planet explode? Some of these questions, answered would have given us as the audience a better understanding of the plot. The narrative was simply a platform for spectacular imagery. When I watched the film for the first time I suspended disbelief on the visual realism, I was attracted to how believable the characters and environments were. I was conscious to the excellent CGI being shown the whole time. In the future looking back at this film, people will remember this film and automatically think of how brilliantly photorealistic the animation was, how life like the characters were and how new and ever evolving technology made this possible. My next case study is another feature length animation made by the incredibly talented people at pixar studios. Pixar have been making animated feature length films and short films for over 10 years now and each one has been more successful than the previous one. The Incredibles is a computer generated film that is not photo realistic. It does have that classic pixar look, heavily stylized with human attributes. It is arguably, one of my favourite animated films mainly because it is not just the typical comedy from pixar. It does have its comedic moments but what sets this apart from any other animated film especially from the studio of pixar is that it is darker and has some form of violence. It feels like a live action film. It has moved away from the cute, lovely characters from previous pixar films. I liked this notion because it mainly appeals to a much wider audience. The narrative structure does follow Todorov’s linear theory of equilibrium but I would like to apply Propp’s theory of character types with Gustav Freytag’s Triangle. The story film begins with an equilibrium, superheroes exist, living amongst normal people saving the world and keeping peace and order in society. Problems begin to evolve as the main ‘Hero’ Mr Incredible is being sued for injuring the same civilian he just saved moments before. One thing leads to another and all superheroes have been forced to live normal lives under a superhero witness protection program. Thus the balances have been disturbed and according to Freytag’s Triangle the density of the problems are growing as time goes on and as the story makes its way up the triangle. The hero by temptation has been called into action by the ‘villain’ into using his powers. The hero without knowing what he is doing has willingly helped the villain in his master plans and when Mr Incredible realises what he has done he is inevitably captured. His family are now on their way to release him. This is the peak of the crisis or triangle as all the problems are laid bare and the tension has built up, we know what Syndromes (villain) intensions are. The climax or the solving of the problems are to follow next as we climb down the triangle, as the family of superheroes solve the problems one by one. The family now together try to find a way to stop Syndromes plans and save the world, restoring the balance in the end and the story coming to an appropriate closure of the current events. I say appropriate closure because the films ending is more or less an open possibility for a sequel or maybe more. I loved the narrative as it has a bond’esque feel about it, saving the world from a mad man. I was easily and simply able to establish who the heroes and villains were and the fact that the story had a suitable closure as all the loose ends of the story were tied up. Examining the narrative overall I can safely say that the relatively straightforward narrative fits Freytag’s triangle perfectly in view of the fact that all the problems that grew were resolved in the end. I would like to mention the beginning of the film was a parody to the 1950/1960’s U.S superhero comics and films. The likeness is significant in the terms that the film begins in the past and works its way to the present day and when the superhero’s lived alongside average citizens and the fact that the look of the film mimicked the same style of news reporting when the superheroes over the world were being sued. In addition the stylised characters with the large upper torso, broad shoulders, square jaw and smaller than average legs evidently represented by Mr Incredible were mimics of the 1950/1960’s U.S superheroes. This parody worked well as it gave the film authenticity and it felt that time had moved on within the film to the present day. Even though the characters were not photorealistic, the animation sold the concept that they were real. The exaggerated motions like I mentioned before convinced me that these artificial characters had feelings and they genuinely exist. This was quite an achievement for pixar, as cg characters before The Incredibles, whether in television adverts, cartoons or short animated films have not been quite rigid but lacked that sense of energy and dynamic in them. This can raise the question, is animation only successful with non-human or non-realistic characters? This question in itself is worth another essay, to be studied accurately, but in short I would like to think not, since there have been films that have major success such as The Incredibles clearly, Toy Story 12 also made by people at pixar studios, Shrek 12 by Dreamworks Animations and feature length films which include ‘CG doubles’ of their live counterparts. Again the theory of ‘The Uncanny Valley’ comes into play as successful films of non-realistic characters maybe down to the fact that people find it strange when CG characters end up looking ‘too real’ on screen. The appearance of the film was simplistic, almost approaching a ‘minimalist’ look and stylised but not over done as to steal the limelight of the narrative. The narrative is the dominant element within this film as I believe that the spectacle supported but did not dominate the narrative. On watching this film I was drawn into the story, what was going to happen next, it was engaging and I wanted to know more. I felt that an actual story was told to me, that I was watching the events unfold from a third person view within the film, that I was successfully entertained. On first time round watching the film I was not thinking how that was made. The film will be remembered for its entertaining, excellent storytelling factor, a film the whole family can watch. All feature animated films that have been produced by the pixar studios have had massive success. I think of pixar as any other major film studio emphasising on telling an entertaining narrative but telling it through a specific medium of film. Films such as the Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Shrek series, Ice Age series and Madagascar all have had major success due to the strong narrative element running through the film. All films are non photo-realistic as the spectacle supports and is just the platform for story. It is kind of ironic that a photorealistic character felt unconvincing in Final Fantasy but felt realistic in The Incredibles even though the creators of Final Fantasy were aiming for realism. It proves my point of the fact that intending to achieve realism will only go so far without the narrative, vigour or the personality behind it. Narrative is compulsory in giving spectacle depth and more over ‘life’ so it will become believable and to work and blend as one as a feature length animated film. So is story and plot less significant in feature length animation then spectacle? I think not. I strongly disagree with the fact that spectacle is more vital than narrative primarily because of the apparent reason that the whole idea of feature films is to tell a story. The public go to cinemas to be entertained for two hours. They set out to be enthralled by a story, that is what a ‘film’ is, a narrative in by which the spectacle helps to communicate the information across. As CG effects get more complicated the audiences want more than spectacle, they yearn to be motivated by other means rather than to watch a sequence of frames. To lose the sense of reality and be mesmerised into a fictional world of wonderful computer generated characters and environments. I believe that full feature animation is just another medium of spectacle that stories can be told through, that narrative is essential for a successful CGI animation, as only recently due to new software and powerful hardware more and more CGI feature films are being made and it is technically quite a new process as filming the real has been done for a while. There is of course the excuse of the cinema to show off how the latest technology can create spectacular imagery and special effects, and show off new film and CG techniques. I also agree that spectacle can sometimes enhance the narrative being told, by exotic scenery and sets that would be impossible to manually build on location, or unrealistic physical attributes such as walking on water or punching holes in walls. The visual storytelling medium has changed, evolved for better or worse due to commercial

Radar Detector :: Speeding Driving Technology Essays

Radar Detector Every person has a tendency to speed while they are driving. But most people still drive slowly because nobody wants to get a speeding ticket. But now, during the development of technology, people invented something called the radar detector, which can avoid you from getting caught while you are driving over speed. In this paper, I want to talk about the Passport 8500 X50 comparing to the Valentine One and Bel 985, which is known as the world’s best radar detector. Before trying to discuss this detector; it is important to know either the history of the radar detector or the difference of the police signals. Escort, the name of the organization that manufactures different varieties of radar detectors, developed passport 8500 X50. They have also developed Solo S2 (the best wireless radar detector) and Passport 7500 (cheaper, but has lower quality than Passport 8500). The use of radar detectors is prohibited only in Washington DC and Virginia. Any other states in the United States accept the use of radar detectors. This company has maintained its existence in the radar business for about 25 years. At first time, radar was used to tell a driver when construction was in the way of the driver so the driver could drive carefully. But nowadays, many road constructions don’t give off the signal to the radar detector and the driver uses the radar detector not to avoid the construction but to avoid the police. There are many different types of signals in this world, but only three signals that police use to detect speed. There are X, K, and Ka bands. The first signal that police used was the X band. It was used until the mid-1970s. Police of Ohio and New Jersey invested a lot of money in X band radar so even now; most police in those states still use this band. The second band is K band which was invented in 1976. Its frequency is twice as long as the X band. It means the accuracy is better in K band. The last band is Ka band. It has a better frequency than all other bands. Nowadays, the use of Ka band is relatively high. Most police use this band to catch people speeding. Passport 8500 X50 operates at X band in a frequency 10.525 GHz  ± 25 MHz, at K band in a frequency 24.

Sarkar-Singer Hypothesis Essay -- International Trade

Sarkar-Singer Hypothesis Introduction Since terms of trade deterioration hypothesis was proposed by Prebisch and Singer in 1950, comparative advantage was doubted. Due to the export structure of developing countries (DCs) is dominated by primary products, and the export structure of industrialised countries (ICs) dominated by manufactured products; they compared primary products export of DCs and manufactured products export of ICs, and indicated that the terms of trade trend to deteriorate over time. This hypothesis is supported by many studies, such as Grilli and Yang (1998) and Spraos (1980); therefore the widening gap like existed. This hypothesis is confronted the traditional view, international trade and specialisation may not be better off. The Prebisch-Singer hypothesis also impacts on the trade policy of the majority of DCs to become inward looking. However, many studies appeal that the defected of Prebisch-Singer hypothesis, Sarkar and Singer analysis is the important appeal. Due to Singer (1958) views that the export structure of the DCs was dominated by primary products; export structure of the ICs by the manufactured products. Therefore, theearly studies use the terms of trade between primary products and manufactures as a proxy. Sarkar (1986) express that the growth of manufactured sectors, however, Singer (1987) proposes that even the change in the commodity composition of exports, the disadvantages in DCs lead the deterioration be continuous. Sarkar and Singer (1991) focuses on this subject, examines the impact of the shift in the commodity composition of exports of DCs. They proposed that the changes in commodity composition of exports are the important factor, as the primary sectors of DCs have a lower rat... ...ent, Vol. 19, No. 4, Page 333-340 Singer, H. W. (1950) The distribution of gains between investing and borrowing countries, American Economic Review, Vol. 40, No. 2, Page 473-485 Singer, H. W. (1958) Comment, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 40, Page87-88 Singer, H. W. (1987) Terms of trade in John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman (Eds), The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, London: Macmillan, Page 626-628 Singer H. W. (1998) The Terms of Trade Fifty Years Later – Convergence and Divergence, The South Letter (30) Sproas, J. (1980) The Statistical Debate on the Net Barter Terms of Trade Between Primary Commodities and Manufactures, Economic Journal, Vol. 90, Page 107-128 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2005) Trade and Development Report Chapter III: Evolution of the Terms of Trade and its Impact on Developing Countries

An Analysis of a “Modern” Sitcom

In his Sitcom: What It Is, How It Works, Richard F. Taflinger (1996)outlines not only what makes a television program comedic but more specifically what points to its being a situational comedy (or simply, sitcom). Examining a random sample of programs from 1950 to 1993, Taflinger identified three types of sitcom: actcom, domcom, and dramedy. But the scope of the studies were sitcoms that are now almost unknown to the modern viewers. Taking one of the most popular sitcoms of this generation – Friends – will Taflinger’s theories still hold water? Warner Bros. Television’s hit comedy show Friends started airing on 22 September 1994 and went on to span 10 seasons, ending only last 2004. The show has become sort of a cult following, which made big bucks not only for creators David Crane and Martha Kauffman, but also for the stars. (Internet Movie Database Inc., 2005) Being a sitcom, Friends is episodic in nature – meaning, there is a definite set of character, setting, and a plot for each episode (Taflinger, 1996). Friends fans have come to get acquainted with the six major characters in the series: Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courtney Cox-Arquette), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), and Dr. Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). And in the ten years that fans have let the six friends into their living rooms, they have come to know each corner and nook of the characters’ apartment and their favorite hangout place, the Central Park Coffee Shop. (Internet Movie Database Inc., 2005) But unlike the sitcoms mentioned in Taflinger’s study, Friends does not strictly fall under the three sitcom categories named. In fact, this popular sitcom seesaws between being an actcom and a domcom. The series pretty much started as an actcom, with emphasis on the actions rather than the characterization. Parallel to Taflinger’s (1996) description of an actcom, the earlier series of Friends mostly featured Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross as â€Å"shallow and superficial† and adhering to a certain societal stereotype. Phoebe was the ditzy, blonde female who always seems to be confused. Joey, who is her male counterpart, represents the struggling vainglorious actor. Releted essay –  An Empty Purse Frightens Away Friends Ross is the geek, Rachel the heartthrob, Monica the know-it-all, and Chandler the all-around typical American guy. During this time, most of the characters’ problems revolve around â€Å"mistakes, misunderstandings, attempts to influence the behavior of others, or unforeseen circumstances.† (Taflinger, 1996) Take for example Rachel’s realization that she likes Ross and, thinking that Ross likes her back (as touted by Chandler), she meets him at the airport only to be surprised that Ross arrived with a date named Janice. Also in line with actcoms, Friends’s situations during the first few seasons are complicated by â€Å"flaws in the plan to solve the problems.† (Taflinger, 1996) A classic example is episode 5 of Season 1, where Joey’s desire to have his ex-girlfriend Angela to break up with her boyfriend Bob led him to asking Monica to go on a double-date by lying that Angela and Bob are siblings. Yet as Friends progressed, it started to develop the characters more. We slowly saw changes in Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross and their conflicts became more domestic. Around Season 7 and 8, the characters start to tackle dilemmas of a moral and emotional nature.   Most famous of these dilemmas is Joey eventually falling in love with Rachel. Creating a big story line in the show, this particular crisis creates a ‘moral’ dilemma for Joey – he wonders whether it’s right to love Rachel since she’s been with their friend Ross; and when Rachel also feels that’s she’s having emotions for Joey, she gripes about whether that emotion is right. Even with the evolution to a domcom, Friends still once in awhile go back to being an actcom. There will still be moments in latter seasons where Phoebe makes a really stupid comment or when Joey again proves to be self-centered. This occasional drift to actcom makes Friends a culmination of both the actcom and the domcom types of sitcoms. But even without a definite category, Friends is still undeniably a sitcom in that it meets the umbrella definition of what constitutes a sitcom’s plot, complication, and characterization: that they are deeply rooted – either by representation or by deviation – in idealized American middle-class (Taflinger, 1996). All the characters in Friends – save for some transient or guest stars – are of the middle class. Most of their dilemmas and problems are also typical of those in the same social status. Their decisions and actions are also based on how a typical middle-class American will act. Another element that makes the Warner Bros. Television series a sitcom is the sympathy evoked by each character. As Taflinger (1996) said, audience members identify with sitcom characters. The viewers are supposed to feel for what the character is going through and they almost always wish that the characters soon come to a resolution. Friends spanning into 10 seasons, with the last episode garnering an estimated 51.1 million viewers, plus the still constant clamor for the show to go back on air is a strong testament to the characters’ influence on viewers. It made such a big impact that people felt like Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross are also their friends. (Internet Movie Database Inc., 2005) With the changing audience needs and wants, there is a need to redefine the types of sitcoms, calling for a combination of what makes one type click and eliminating what doesn’t. But what’s important is that sitcoms maintain their staple ingredients to become effective. Like Friends. Even with the deviation in the strict categorization of sitcoms, Friends still meet the very definition of what makes a situational comedy – middle-class American and sympathetic. REFERENCES Internet Movie Database Inc. (2005). â€Å"Friends† (1994). IMDb. Retrieved 20 October 2007, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/. Taflinger, Richard F. (1996, May 28). Sitcom: What It Is, How It Works. Retrieved 20 October 2007.

Global Business Plan for Yankee Candle Company Essay

Yankee Candle Company began in 1969, as penniless Mike Kittredge, age 16, melted crayons to form a candle as a Christmas present for his Mom. A neighbor, mesmerized by his fabulous creation, expressed her desire to purchase one of his candles; thus Yankee Candle Company was born. Mike used his parent’s basement, kitchen, and garage to produce his scented candles. Five years later, in 1974, Mike moved production into an old paper mill located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1998 Forstmann Little & Company partnered with Yankee Candle Company and began to publicly trade on the NYSE in 1999. Mike Kittredge sold his first candle to a neighbor for $1.36, in 1969 and in 2005 Yankee Candle Company’s total sales were $601,180,000. Mike’s humble beginning in the family home has grown into a â€Å"wholesale customer network of 16,400 store locations, a growing base of Company owned and operated retail stores (390 located in 42 states),†¦ direct mail catalogs, its websi te,†¦ international distributors, and to a European wholesale network of approximately 2,200 store locations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2006) Yankee’s passion for fragrance has become a profitable entity with visions of continued global expansion. Yankee Candle Company has branded their product as long-lasting and strong in fragrance. Yankee has developed over 150 fragrances for their various candle products. Their product line includes jars, votive, tarts, wax potpourri, pillars, tapers, and tea lights candles. Yankee’s design is innovative and their scents are pleasant, relaxing, and rejuvenating. Yankee Candle Company’s design department is visionary in developing candles to accent modern dà ©cor and fragrances that appeal to its customers. Yankee will explore and introduce aromas that are common to the Greek culture as they expand into this new market. Yankee Candle will emulate their â€Å"passion for fragrance† and provide a wide variety of choices for its new customers in Greece. The Yankee Candle Company continues to build on the passion and creativity of Mike Kittredge; driven by a mission to warm hearth and home with the fragrances of life through excellence, innovation, and passion. Yankee has been dedicated to excellence throughout their 37 year history. A company spokesperson attributes their success to, â€Å"our vertically integrated  business model, which enables us to control most every aspect of our business, from product development to manufacturing to distribution to marketing and sales. This structure allows us to consistently provide high quality and innovative products†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2006) Yankee’s innovation is evident in their candles and accessory designs, which acclimate too various dà ©cor preferences and the expanding variety of fragrances, which appeal to its customers. Yankee Candle Company is driven by an intense passion to spread the fragrances of life around the world for all to enjoy. The product expansion into the Greek marketplace is another step towards reaching their objectives. Yankee Candle Company will expand its fragrances to blend in with the cultures of new markets. Yankee will continue to develop partnerships with established Company owned retail stores as venues for their products to be sold. The candle company has already established Yankee Candle  ® Europe with a 30,000 square foot distribution center in Bristol, England that provides Yankee products for approximately 2,200 stores. This distribution center will be used to export Yankee products to be sold by retail stores in Greece. The Yankee Company has decided to expand their markets and head out to the Country of Greece. We will be exporting our candle line product from the United States to Greece. The product expansion into the Greek marketplace is another step towards reaching their objectives. Yankee Candle Company will expand its fragrances to blend in with the cultures of new markets. Yankee will continue to develop partnerships with established Company owned retail stores as venues for their products to be sold. As Yankee Candle expands into new regions of the world, distribution centers will be built to service their wholesale store network. Where trade barriers, economical and political policies will allow. When expanding into new countries, Yankee Candle will establish an online shopping website to market and sell their products. Since 1994, the United States is part of the NAFTA organization between three countries. â€Å"The North American Free Trade Agreement, known usually as NAFTA, is a free trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA  went into effect on January 1, 1994. NAFTA is also used to refer to the tripartite trading bloc of North American countries.† www.wikipedia.org. Since the inception of the Eurpeon Union in 1957 six countries were a part of this union. Nineteen further states have joined in and creasted a successful union. Greece joined the EU January, 1981. The exchange and repatriation of funds risks the Euro’s exchange rate against the dollar, remains unstable. The low interest rates, increased competition in the banking industry, and continued growth in commercial bank lending; to raise bad debt and strong growth in consumer borrowing. Economic growth is forecast to slow in 2006 and 2007. The consumer price inflation slowed dramatically in Greece before its entry into pre-economic and monetary union (EMU) in January 2001 and was helped by other temporary measures. The economy of the United States is stable made up of natural resource, labor and manufacturing, and investments. The United States† has the largest and one of the most technologically advanced national economies in the world, with a GDP of 13.049 trillion dollars.† www.wikipedia.org. Consumers and producers have some decision-making that form the economy, but the government also has a powerful role on the effects of the economy. The economy of Greece â€Å"is growing fast after the implementation of stabilization policies in recent years. Greece remains a net importer of industrial and capital goods, foodstuffs, and petroleum. Leading exports are manufactured goods, food and beverages, petroleum products, cement, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.† www.wikipedia.org. Greece is global leader in shipping, which is the transportation of goods and cargo by land, air, or sea. Types of currency used through out the world vary from country to country and or by region. The Unites States of America official currency is the dollar, symbol: USD also known to be abbreviated by $. The US currency was adopted in 1785 by the United States Congress. The United States dollar is also known as a world currency; in 1985 $300 billion dollars were in circulation,  with two thirds being out side of the Untied States. Each year the amount of U.S dollars is being circulated around the world continues to increase. In comparison to the Untied States of America, Greece uses the euro as denomination of currency type, symbol â‚ ¬. Greece is part of the European Union also knows as the EU. What I found most interesting is the European Monetary Union has ceded control of monetary policy to the European Central Bank. Versus the Untied States taking control over their own currency. â€Å"The European Union has a large economy, probably slightly larger than that of the United States of America with a 2005 GDP of 12,865,602 million vs. 11,734,300 million (USD figures) (using nominal US Dollar GDP) according to the International Monetary Fund.† www.wikipedia.org. Greece’s relations with other countries in the region have been steadily improving. Greece is working with Turkey to resolve their disagreements, mainly with regard to Cyprus. Failure to resolve the division of the island of Cyprus may increase tensions between Greece and Turkey as the latter finds its bid to join the European Union partially dependent on success, but tensions rise sharply with Turkey over the issue of Cyprus. Greece is also assisting and improving relations with the economic development of the Balkans. The Balkans is now viewed by Greece as a greater threat to security than Turkey. Also, renewed instability in the Balkans leads to unrest in Greece and trade disruption. Political corruption is considered higher in Greece than many other European Union countries. Politicians are dependent on media with strong ties to business interests. There is a politicized, anti-globalization environmental movement in Greece which is increasingly complicated in its use of th e courts and the European Union to block large projects. United States culture is very diverse but due to the level of the American culture there are many integrated but exclusive subculture within the U.S. The subcultures differentiated by status, ethnic background, residence, religion or other factors that functionally combine the group and act jointly on each subculture member. The ethnic groups are White, Black, Asian, Amerindian, Alaska native, native Hawaiian, and other Pacific  islander. The various religion are Protestant, Roman, Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Baptist, and others. Lastly, the languages are English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian, Pacific island and others. Let us not forget that the government type is constitution-based federal republic but strong democratic tradition. As a result, the subcultures have their own joint set of customs, attitudes, and values. Greece is a diverse culture partial by its place at the crossroads between the East and the West and by the various occupations endured by the Greek people throughout history. The Greeks are proud of their culture which is the definition of their national and ethnic belonging. The Greeks culture is made of their traditions, religion, music, language, food and wines. Some of the traditions and superstitions vary from one island to another. Many countries differ within a range of dimensions including social structure, language, religion, and traditions to name a few. The difference has important implications on marketing strategy of the product. The most cultural difference that has an impact would be traditions. Candle scent preference may differ from one country to another. The company may encounter resistance to some of its different scents or wax. The organization must careful research Greece cultural norms and understanding the difference between US and Greece. Cross-Cultural training (literacy) would be needed to make sure the company advertising or marketing strategy does not offend anyone in the other country. The candles should be affordable due to the unemployment rate within Greece; however the organization must make a profit consider the cost to export the candles within that country. Yankee Candle is aware of the culture difference between the US and Greece, therefore staffing would be important to the organization. The organization would provide their US employees with language and cultural training. Yankee understands that one of their vendors Berlitz has experience and knowledge in cross cultural and language training that would help assist the expatriates. Berlitz offers a variety of programs and has been in the  business for 128 years, more than 450 centers in over 60 countries. Berlitz offers online, adult, children and teen programs for cultural and language training including one-on-one sessions. The cultural and language training would be for the family as well. The cultural training would be for two days and 100 hours for language training, however if more hours are needed for language the company would approve this cost. The employees that are going on the international assignment would have other benefits including when they are expatriating back in to the US. However, the expatriates will receive just a  ½ day of cultural training and language will not be necessary. The US dollar is not equal to the same amount in most other countries. Hence, the company would pay an additional allowance to cover the difference. The cost of living may be higher in the other countries, as a result a housing allowance is provided to the employee. The company does consider the cost living in the US and then compare that cost to living in Greece. The education in Greece is not the same for US citizens. As a result, to the language barrier and cultural it may be very difficult for the employee’s children to attend the local school in the host country for that reason private schools or boarding school may be required. Consequently the company is aware of this and therefore would provide tuition allowance. Due to the cultural and language difference there are going to be diversity issues, so human resource has provided an open door policy. The open door policy would allow employees to express him or she concerns and human resource will try to provide a solution to the problem, if possible. Supply chain management is an important role for the success of Yankee Candle Company to sell scented candles in Greece. Supply chain is most effective for optimal resource use, minimum total cost, and maximum value to the customer. Decisions with in supply chain are to buy your product or make your own. Yankee Candle Company already produces its own scented candles and will be the same for candles being shipped overseas. The production will be manufactured in the Company’s 294,000 square foot facility in Whately, Massachusetts. As a manufacturer, the Company is able to closely monitor product quality and control production costs, which ensures high quality  products and maintains affordable pricing. Information has been gathered from the Greece from the candle business industry. This data will assist in forecasting how much product is needed for a three months supply to meet the supply and demand in Greece. Lead time for the initiation of Yankee Candle Company to enter the Greece market is 10 months. In turn this will give enough time to meet the three month stock supply. The information gathered from the Greece candle market will support the types of scented candles that will be produced to ship overseas. Lead time for the shipment to arrive at the distribution warehouse is three month’s; the life span of a candle is three years. Placing our product will be near or around the largest cities and ports in Greece. The largest and most important city in Greece is Athens, the capital with population based in 1991 of 748,110. The largest port in Greece is Thessalonà ­ki, with a population of 377,951. Also another large port is located on the North part of the Peloponnesus, is a major seaport, with 155,180 inhabitants. Other sizable cities include Là ¡risa (113,426), Irà ¡klion (117,167), and Và ³los (76,463). The ports and its population are important factors in knowing were to place the Yankee Candle Stores. These would be in areas in the region that have the most population and are easily accessible to Tourist from vacation boats that may doc on these ports. Promoting Yankee Candle Company in Greece would be similar as it is currently in the Untied States. Through its retail stores the Yankee Candle company would open in Greece, direct mail catalogs. To include a large market Yankee candle will also promote is U.S product through television commercials newspapers, bill board singes through out the larger cities of Greece, and through its own web page http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/retail.jsp. Promotion for this product will be introduced to all who wants to have special fragrances in their homes. Business will also be targeted to have fresh new fragrances for their offices. Candles are an excellent gift for all ages and for any special occasion. The middle class in Greece is the main target market Yankee Candle Company is promoting the scented U.S candle product. In 2005  the labor force in Greece was at 4.72 million compared to unemployment rate of 10.8% figures from www.cia.gov. These figures give Yankee Candle Company the green light to proceed with international distribution into the Greece market. Pricing the candles will be 30% above the sale price of a U.S product. This will ensure the costs of having a U.S product of seas. Yankee Candle’s has successfully developed and market new products and earn enormous returns. We have success springs for the fact that it has a vertically integrated business model, with the in-house expertise required to design, develop, manufacture, distribute and sell our candle products. Our vertically integrated business model acts as a powerful platform to support our product innovation initiatives. This business model included strong research and development activities, an experienced employee team, and a basis skill in test marketing our products. We collected these resources to research consumer interests and home decor buying trends, and then to create original candle designs, fragrances, accessories, gift sets, home fragrance merchandise, and personal care items that align with our findings. We then release this merchandise into our distribution channels in a way that permits us to seek and track consumer feedback. This process positions us to fine-tune our new pro ducts from performance, to packaging, to labeling, to pricing helping to maximize the potential for each item we develop to have a successful launch and widespread acceptance. Together, these efforts helped to drive sales, attract new customers and extend the appeal of the Yankee Candle brand. Once exporting was chosen as the mode of entry, Yankee Candle secured assistance from a company called, Export Trade of America; to learn about insurance, tariff, and tax laws involved in trading with Greece. Yankee Candle Company will face various legal challenges when exporting its candles into Greece, but the process will go much easier with the help of an export management company. Yankee will need to comply with employee laws and have knowledge about hiring, firing, and discipline regulations in Greece. They will need to be acquainted with their legal system and how those laws are enforced. Greece is a parliamentary republic with a president, who is heads the executive administration, a prime minister, who is head of the government, and a 300 seat legislature. The judicial includes a Supreme Court, regional districts, and prefectures to decide civil and criminal cases. There is a national police force as well as policing agencies from the European Union. As a member of the European Union, the EU laws supersede those of the individual member nations. Yankee Candle Company will need to be aware of the EU laws, enforcement, penalties, and necessary trade practices. The European Union could cause legal complications as the union adds new members, arbitrates disagreements among its memberships, and as competition increases in the global marketplace. There has been a longstanding relationship between Greece and the United States of America. The two countries have diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement ties. Greece and the United States, recently signed treaties â€Å"covering extradition and mutual legal assistance, which further strengthened this cooperation.† (2006) Trade between these two nations should proceed with success barring increased terrorism, war, or a terrific natural disaster that impacts the global economy. It is important for any company to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As Yankee Candle employees examines their organization they listed the following as company strengths; strong business model, long-lasting candles, well-branded product, variety of fragrances, adaptability of product to various cultures and dà ©cor, strong financial backing, increasing profitability, expanding marketplace, efficient manufacturing and distribution process, and an innovative product development. Yankee Candle Company’s weaknesses include; rising cost for manufacturing and distributions, technological skills, single manufacturing center, adapting products to various cultures and customs, and material shortages. There are several opportunities that must be pursued to maintain profitability; increase presence in the global marketplace, expanded online shopping options, adapt fragrance choices to new markets, build foreign manufacturing and distribution center, and add accessories to their product line. There are many threats to the existence of Yankee Candle Company  including; competition’s pricing and product differentiation, terrorism, natural disasters, exchange rate, rising costs for manufacturing and distribution, and the products life-cycle. The external environment strengths include; reduction in trade barriers, strong European Union, technological advancements, and utilization of websites. The external weaknesses are; trade blocs, closed economic and political policies that prevent or limit imports/exports, and the affects of terrorism. External opportunities include; improving the economic levels of third world countries, utilizing the skills, resources, and expertise of various countries to lower costs and create an integrated economy, develop innovative products, and create a global network. Finally, the external threats include; terrorism, political instability, natural disasters, increased global competition, trade blocs that become fortresses against those outside their union, countries imposing regulations against outsiders who want to merger or acquire other foreign companies, conflict among existing trade bloc members, and inflation/deflation of the monitory systems. Reference: (2006, 4,12). The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. 2006 First Quarter Earnings Webcast. Retrieved 4/23/06, from SBC Yahoo Finance Web site: http://biz,yahoo.com/bw/060412/20060412005002.html?.v=1www.wikipedia.org., retreived April 24, 2006. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gr.html#EconRetrieved 5/13/06 from the World FactbookUnknown, Retrieve on April 23, 2006 fromhttp://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/gr.htmlUnknown, Retrieve on April 23, 2006 fromhttp://www.greeka.com/greece-culture.htm