Time Travelers Wife Essay Example

Time Travelers Wife Essay 2012-07410March 15, 2013 ENG 2 G-3RDraft no. 1 The Time Traveler’s Wife (Film) A Reaction Paper Why is love intensified by absence? (Niffenegger, 2003) The Time Travelers Wife is a romantic drama film directed by Robert Schwentke and was based on a novel by Audrey Niffenegger of the same title. The film tells the story of Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana), a librarian who suffers from a genetic disorder that causes him to jump back and forth in time, and Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams), as they endeavor to live a happy and normal life. In the early 1970s, a six year-old Henry survives a car accident wherein his mother died. The tension before the impact enabled him to travel back two weeks before the accident. He was then transported back into the present and witnessed the death of his mother before him. An older version of him tries to help Henry by explaining that he is indeed a time traveler. Henry finds himself living the past, present, and future at the same time. In 1991, Henry meets for the first time an art student named Clare. Though she is delighted to see him, Henry was not able to recognize her. She later reveals that the future Henry time traveled and met the six year old Clare. They develop a relationship and Henry finally felt permanence in his life. Subsequently, the couple enters a married life which will be teemed with obstacles brought about by Henry’s condition. The film Time Traveler’s Wife employed time travel as one of main character’s flaw and strong point at the same time expressing the love story that attracts most of the women audience. We will write a custom essay sample on Time Travelers Wife specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Time Travelers Wife specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Time Travelers Wife specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Its title and movie trailer just provides sufficient ideas that will make you think about it and finally watch the film. Considering the fact that it was primarily based on a book, it can be posited that the story was crammed and made to fit in the specific amount of time. This caused the movie to lose its richness which left the supporting characters with little exposure who may have contributed to the audience’s understanding and interpretation and to the story’s further development. Moreover, the film focused too much on the love story of Henry and Clare and ignored the other characters’ involvement and influence on the main characters’ decision as opposed to the book. Critiques aside, the story was very poignant. It provided various themes such as the importance of time, love, family, marriage, sex and reality. Love was expressed and interpreted by the characters in various ways—physical lovemaking, Clare’s patience (or impatience) for waiting Henry from his travels, and sacrifices that each of them made in their pursuit of happiness. It was emphasized that love is an important aspect of life that overcomes and recognizes no obstacles. The film also gives the audience the idea of struggle between life as something that is already written and pre-determined, and the capacity or power of our free will and choices. Sex and racism, to some extent, is depicted in the movie. It shows the importance of physical connection to the intimacy of the main characters. In addition, the character of Eric Bana criticized the Republicans and hunters. Lastly, versions of reality were presented—that of Henry’s and of Clare’s. It gives the audience the impression that reality is subjective and thereby influenced by emotions. Time Traveler’s Wife can be considered as a carpe diem movie. Although it contains a timeline structure that is quite confusing for the viewers and disturbing scenes and language, the film earns the audience awe and tears by the story of two lovers who are victims of the unpredictable fate.

Free Essays on Are We Getting Dumber

Are We Getting Dumber? It is obvious that today, with all of our technology, that school is easier or â€Å"dumbed down.† Information is now right at the fingertips of every student, all the elements need to write an A paper are just a mouse click away. In fact, simple technology seems to be the way we are gearing things. You cannot blame the fact that things are now easier on the students. The students did not decide how things were going to be taught or learned. Nor, did they decide to make it easier to learn. People like Neil Postman are the reason that this country has found itself in a bad place. People like him run down the self worth and self esteem of our countries people. Could a stupid society make space travel seem routine? Could a stupid society make it possible to save a persons life by giving him the heart valve of a pig or an ape? I do not think that anything remotely close to that would be possible in stupid society. So, Postman can write his books and have his say. Me personally I believe that they only dumb person in this society is Neil Postman. Our culture is not â€Å"dumbed down†, now days everything is just easier to come by. I will not apologize for not doing this the hard way just because it seems smarter. U say â€Å"Future Shlock† I say that future looks bright for our people.... Free Essays on Are We Getting Dumber Free Essays on Are We Getting Dumber Are We Getting Dumber? It is obvious that today, with all of our technology, that school is easier or â€Å"dumbed down.† Information is now right at the fingertips of every student, all the elements need to write an A paper are just a mouse click away. In fact, simple technology seems to be the way we are gearing things. You cannot blame the fact that things are now easier on the students. The students did not decide how things were going to be taught or learned. Nor, did they decide to make it easier to learn. People like Neil Postman are the reason that this country has found itself in a bad place. People like him run down the self worth and self esteem of our countries people. Could a stupid society make space travel seem routine? Could a stupid society make it possible to save a persons life by giving him the heart valve of a pig or an ape? I do not think that anything remotely close to that would be possible in stupid society. So, Postman can write his books and have his say. Me personally I believe that they only dumb person in this society is Neil Postman. Our culture is not â€Å"dumbed down†, now days everything is just easier to come by. I will not apologize for not doing this the hard way just because it seems smarter. U say â€Å"Future Shlock† I say that future looks bright for our people....

Free Essays on My Papas Walts

The undeniable love for one's father cannot be overseen. The poem " My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke proves that the difference between pain and love is only but a small spark in the brain. A split second of choice is given to decide whether you love someone or hate them, that is the reason why may people fall in love with people that hurt them. In the case of this poem, Roethke does a fantastic job of disguising the horrific ideas of a father beating his son behind the pleasant image of dancing. While domestic violence is becoming as common as the tardy work of a college student, Roethke gives a little insite of impact on the whole family. A waltz is a dance performed by two persons in circular figures with a wirling motion(Websters). With this in mind the poem at hand gives a poor example of fine waltzing. In line 4 the author states that "such waltzing was not easy". At this point he gives the reader an insite to the begining of his sarcartic adventure. "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf"(lines 5 and 6). He wants you to think the "dancing" that they were doing was a little messy. whats realy happening is that a childs drunken over worked father has come home and is now abusively sending his son off to bed. As this is from the eyes of a small boy, he explains the actions of his father very easily like it is no big deal and this happens all the time. Roethke shows you the disapproval of the mother in this by her inability to stop this madness and her "frown". "You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging on to your shirt"(lines 13- 16). These lines show how the child in this peom has been beaten but still hangs on, still thinks it will stop at any moment. He hopes that his father will realize whatis going on. Saying that he is still clinging on allows you to believe in a bond. It makes you think that this child may never let go, that h... Free Essays on My Papa's Walts Free Essays on My Papa's Walts The undeniable love for one's father cannot be overseen. The poem " My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke proves that the difference between pain and love is only but a small spark in the brain. A split second of choice is given to decide whether you love someone or hate them, that is the reason why may people fall in love with people that hurt them. In the case of this poem, Roethke does a fantastic job of disguising the horrific ideas of a father beating his son behind the pleasant image of dancing. While domestic violence is becoming as common as the tardy work of a college student, Roethke gives a little insite of impact on the whole family. A waltz is a dance performed by two persons in circular figures with a wirling motion(Websters). With this in mind the poem at hand gives a poor example of fine waltzing. In line 4 the author states that "such waltzing was not easy". At this point he gives the reader an insite to the begining of his sarcartic adventure. "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf"(lines 5 and 6). He wants you to think the "dancing" that they were doing was a little messy. whats realy happening is that a childs drunken over worked father has come home and is now abusively sending his son off to bed. As this is from the eyes of a small boy, he explains the actions of his father very easily like it is no big deal and this happens all the time. Roethke shows you the disapproval of the mother in this by her inability to stop this madness and her "frown". "You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging on to your shirt"(lines 13- 16). These lines show how the child in this peom has been beaten but still hangs on, still thinks it will stop at any moment. He hopes that his father will realize whatis going on. Saying that he is still clinging on allows you to believe in a bond. It makes you think that this child may never let go, that h...

Cawow Essays

Cawow Essays Cawow Essay Cawow Essay California WOW Xperience Public Company Limited (CAWOW) is at first known as Thailand’s leading fitness center operating with 9 branch locations and 35,000 square meters of fitness facilities serving more than 80,000 members. CAWOW came into Thai market since the year 2000, first known as California Fitness Centers, the most complete and modern fitness center in Thailand. The company formed by Fitness Holdings International Corporation which is the company under 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc, America, administrate by Eric Mark Levine. The first branch opened at Liberty Tower on Silom road since midyear of 2000. During the first three year, the number of club members reached about 12,000 people. Mr. Eric Mark Levine, CAWOW’s CEO and founder, a global fitness executive with more than 30 years of proven experience developing and building fitness companies. As CAWOW’s Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Eric has developed a unique â€Å"Exertainment† (Exercise+Entertainment) concept combining fitness, fashion and entertainment within state of the art fitness centers that exude high levels of positive energy. CAWOW joined forces with Major Cineplex Group Public Company Limited (Major Cineplex) Thailand’s leading total lifestyle entertainment company which has strength in being the Entertainment Complex or Lifestyle Center not just cinema business like before, in 2003, 51% share holding by Mr. Eric group and 49% holding by Major Cineplex Group and change the name from Fitness Holdings International Corporation to Elite Power Holdings Inc. and FDE of the World Co. , Ltd. by Eric Mark Levine and also change the trademark from ‘California Fitness Centers’ to ‘California WOW Xperience Public Company Limited’ (CAWOW). This strategic partnership has enabled CAWOW to leverage the marketing and property development expertise of the Major Group to become Thailand’s leading Fitness Company. SITUATION ANALYSIS Market Analysis 1) STP Segmentation Demographically, CAWOW segments customers mainly according to their ages, which mostly categorizes as university students and working people in various ages. Psychographically, CAWOW segments customers focusing on lifestyle, mainly young people who are health conscious, interested in exercising, and care about their body image. Targeting CAWOW’s target group is the people of age 21-40 years old which can be categorize as university student and office people who looking to take care of their health. The target group also required to have a medium to high purchasing power in order to be able to afford the club fees. Apart from that, in tern of lifestyle, the target group of CAWOW is those people who care about putting up an appearance and health through exercising. Each branch also target on people who live around the area so the target group for the brand will be differ from place to place. As they segment according to the type of lifestyle, the age group leading the similar lifestyle will have different paths home and will have different locations in which they pass by. For university level target groups will have more focus upon classes like that of dance, and perhaps Yoga etc. however, in terms of first jobbers are those that have been working for a period of time, their focus will be upon Yoga and Pilates to maintain their healthy sense of mind and body. Positioning The positioning of CAWOW is the worlds’ number one fitness center, and the number one fitness center in Thailand. 2) Marketing Mix Product CAWOW’s fitness centers offer members hundreds of Group Exercise Classes per week, such as Body Balance, Body Jam, Body Combat, Step, Tai-Chi, Spinning, etc. They also offer Personal Training, Yoga and Pilates. Personal Training is a one-on-one service helping each member design the appropriate program to reach their fitness goals. Yoga is the highest growth service among these three services. CAWOW offers 2 forms of Yoga; Bikram Yoga and Planet Yoga with hundreds of Yoga classes offered per week. They also offer Pilates, the ultimate physical and mental conditioning program. They also provide lockers, sauna, and steam rooms for their members. Price Their prices are mainly determined according to both the degree of need of exercise and the qualities of a customer. The company uses the free floating membership price system which means that it does not have the published prices and there is no information on their website about pricing as well. The only way for customer who wants to know the price is physically going to their club and talk to their sales. The membership price will be different for each of customers. Some people may pay a cheaper or a higher price for the same membership that may receive variety of service package, being able to bargain with CAWOW salesperson. Place CAWOW has opened their branches in the high traffic point in Bangkok including Siam paragon, Silom, Chanegwattana, Pinklao, Sukumvit23, Sukumvit31, Ratchayothin, and Ratchada. After joining with Major Cineplex, they try to expand the branch into Major branch to save the cost under the fact that the company expects to gain more sales revenue in opening each new branch, especially in the first two year from opening. Since the contract of membership is at least one year, most of customers do not renew the contract and the customers who plan to play for long term paid for life membership so that a great way to gain the money is to find new customers is by opening new branch. Also, the location they choose are all able to see through glass windows so that other people can be able to see them working out. Promotion Their promotions are normally changing from time to time. They have weekly promotion that will change every week, and within the week also have another promotion which will give the customers more benefits such as free Yoga, free one time personal trainer, etc. The most common one is that if you pay for long term membership you will pay cheaper for each month. CAWOW also offers the member privilege; for example, discount for some spa and restaurants. Their promotion activities vary to make sure that it can effectively access to customers. These promotion activities include; Advertising Mass media: As a health, fitness and lifestyle company, CAWOW promotes their benefits to fitness enthusiasts’ via media channels thus increasing brand awareness and health consciousness in Thailand. The Company has launched the â€Å"Yoga For All† TV Series and their â€Å"California WOW 20 Minute Workout† broadcast on Chic Channel – True Vision, UBC which can target directly on the potential customers, as well as creating chic image for the brand. Magazine: CAWOW has launched the â€Å"WOW† Fitness Magazine with 50,000 copies circulated to their members and on newsstands each month to help promoting the brand and also create the health conscious trend. Personal selling Sales person offers several promotions to all the guests and current members either by phone or face to face. This kind of promotion is often be found after free trial of the current member’s guest where the sales person will offer special promotion for them and if they do not sign for membership that day, the sales person will continually calling them to offer more promotion and benefits. Website One of the tools that CAWOW often used to communicate to their current customers and other potential customers is through their website. CAWOW official website provides all sort of the company’s news, and any all other information about CAWOW. 3) SWOT Analysis Strengths Experience and reputation The founder of CAWOW is an experienced professional that has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 30 years. He, Mr. Eric Mark Levine is both the founder and the CEO and has intensive knowledge about the industry. Indeed, CAWOW is a well-known brand that expose in several countries. First-mover advantage In Thailand, the firm is the longest established fitness center. With their advertising and their locations, they have the highest brand visibility in terms of time frame. Their long establishment will also help building up a foundation in providing fitness services to their clients. In addition, the fact that they were established first helps them grab and maintai n a substantial amount of this industry’s market share due to the constant strong brand awareness. Benefit from alliance with Major Cineplex group CAWOW also entered into a beneficial joint venture with The Major Group. This provided several benefits for CAWOW as it helped increase the total amount of new customers for the fitness center. In addition, their fixed costs will have decreased because their cost on rent is shared with the Major group and its facilities. High level of brand awareness Since CAWOW choose â€Å"Lukked Metinee Kingpayom†, the famous star and super model as a presenter, it can create high level of brand awareness and image of good body shape and entertainment. As with most of the trends that come by into society, it is usually led by a celebrity. For Thailand, this famous celebrity is thought of to be a trendsetter in many ways, and is constantly kept in the spotlight. With her as the brand presenter will allow an optimal amount of attention to be fixated upon CAWOW. Not only will this help increase in the brand awareness but it may also lead to an increase in total consumers. This may result from the self-fulfillment of a self-concept by consumers that look to be like this celebrity. Hence, they will correlate the look and to be her as including CAWOW in their life day to day activities. Variety of exercises CAWOW offers members hundreds of Group Exercise Classes per week, such as Body Balance, Body Jam, Body Combat, Step, Tai-Chi, Spinning, etc. They also offer Personal Training, Yoga and Pilates for customer can choose the class they like. As the trend nowadays tends to lean towards exercise types that many of the celebrities take- Yoga and Pilates- CAWOW offers a substantial amount of classes. The main benefit of variety is that it can accommodate the need of members. High-quality equipment CAWOW’s facilities are well taken care of so that the equipment is not only easy to use, but also appealing to their consumers. Long opening hours CAWOW provides long opening period for their members. This longer period of opening time helps CAWOW as a categorical point of parity. This is because all CAWOW fitness centers are opening at all times of the day and night to cater to the needs of their different consumers. With longer working hours, it allows their consumers to use the club whene ver they want. Weaknesses Aggressive Sales person CAWOW’s sales persons are famous in selling their member packages too aggressively. That makes customers annoyed and potential customers who know about this behavior may avoid to talk to CAWOW’s sales persons. This also create bad image of the company when the customer feels like they are forced to buy the package that they do not need. Low customer service (After sales) Many customers complain that after sale service is not as good as before they buy the package. They think that the sales persons ignore them because they already paid for the package fee then it is not essential to take care them any more. In contrast, the trainers who can still get advantage from taking care of customers still keep calling them to go to the club and use the personal trainer service which they have to pay extra money. High-cost personal trainers CAWOW’s members have to pay extra money for personal trainer who will give suggestion to use the equipment in the most effective way. The fee is many times said to be too expensive that may make customers think that it is not worth to pay. Busy during peak hours During peak hours for CAWOW which is 18. 00-21. 00, the fitness centers are extremely crowded; for example, it is normal during peak hour to see people lining up in front of the lift. In addition, over crowdedness and lack of personal space within the fitness center will lead to less privacy which is not a preference that most consumers have. They prefer a substantial amount of proximity between one another, and to not waste more time lining up then actually working out. Opportunities Unsaturated Market From CAWOW’s research conclude that the ratio of Thai people who is fitness member is still much less than neighbor country such as Japan 4. 5% of the people is the fitness member, Hong Kong 4%, Taiwan and Korea 3%, while ,Thailand only has 1% of people who is fitness member. It is show that there is much chance for fitness industry to grow more than now. Health Conscious Trend Nowadays, people are becoming more concerned about their health. Therefore, exercising tend to become more popular among various activities during free time to satisfy the trend. Threats High competitive market CAWOW is the first in the fitness center market after that is Fitness First which expands their branches to the high traffic points of Bangkok and some branches near CAWOW branches which means that they target more or less the same gro up of customers around those locations. In addition, fitness centers like that of Fitness First seems to be a higher positioned fitness center. They also seem to have targeted a lot of CAWOW’s weaknesses. For example, their congested fitness center during peak hours is controlled by a slightly higher price. When one first applies to be a member of Fitness First, they give you a free personal trainer to help you get to know the equipment and to work out a suitable work out routine that is adapted to your personal needs. After that, there are a series of trainers around that remember you buy name and remember the type of activities that you need to complete in your routine and they help you out often providing service in after you’ve subscribed to be a member. Substitute activities For exercising there is much more substitute ways to do, especially those exercises that cost less that fitness center such as jogging in the park, riding a bicycle, or swimming.

Why kids should not be on the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why kids should not be on the internet - Essay Example The success remains in how cleverly we utilize them for the wellbeing of the people. Internet is just like an ocean of knowledge for all the people. But the problem is that this ocean consists of good and evils. Only the matured persons will be able to select and segregate good things from internet whereas immature people always fell in to this ocean as victims of the bad things. â€Å"Internet can provide contents like sexual acts or conduct, lewd exhibitions of genitals, the seven "dirty" FCC words, revealing attire, the use or sale of weapons, game sites designed for teens or older, legal or illegal drugs, legal or illegal gambling, alcohol consumption, explicit violence against people or animals including hate crimes, tobacco use etc to the kids which are harmful in their development as a socially accepted personality and hence the internet usages should be restricted to them. This paper analyses the negative impacts of internet on kids. Internet consists of sex related contents which is harmful to the kids. One of the major reasons for juvenile offenses is the influence of internet upon children. Segregation of good and evils is difficult for kids because of the growth sex hormones at these ages. It is easy for the juveniles to watch movies filled with violence and sexual activities using internet websites like YouTube. Internet is used by kids playing video games and relaxing purposes. It is difficult for them to search for serious things at this age because of the peculiarity of their age. After a busy work outs in the classrooms most of the children uses internet for watching something interesting to them. â€Å"The Internet is an invaluable tool for adolescents who use it to look for answers to personal, sensitive, and embarrassing questions about their bodies, relationships, and health. A study of 778 teens aged 15-18 in the African nation of Ghana shows that two-thirds had gone online, mainly at cafes with I nternet access. All of

Ads and promtion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ads and promtion - Essay Example This is unisex. Figure three fits designer shops though for casual clothing and focuses on male more. Figure four is fit for shops which sell women items e.g. earrings, bangles, trouser suits and focuses more on female gender. Figure five is fit for a picnic site could be a recreation centre or a park and is for any gender. One can depict that the company sponsoring the ads deals in several things including designer clothes and picnics. It is seen from the adverts that it is a modern company since ladies are dressed in a modern manner where not every part is covered. It is a company that accepts various kinds of dressing codes. Products advertised by the pictures above could bring high sales apart from figure 6 which is bit controversial. Such an advert betrays a company’s culture of advertising and the way of dressing. It also makes the company’s morals to be doubted. Advertising is a dilemma in itself bearing in mind that a company has to put all stake holders in mind; client being most important. Figure 6 is controversial in that there is a lady who is almost fully naked with two other men who are half-naked. Behind them are two men who seem to be watching over what is happening; shown as a rape ordeal. Such an advert cannot sell a company’s product though it could sell to youths. It could spark hatred among the old generation since they advocate for conservatism. A company should not target one group in its quest to develop a large client base via advertising. Thus, sales department ought to have sharp minds and creativity as adverts are made and placed on the public arena. Adverts should have a panel to review before being taken to

Websites that explore visual designs Research Paper

Websites that explore visual designs - Research Paper Example Almost everyone has access or has the need to surf the Internet for various purposes whether for academics, work or purely for relaxation. It is indeed a challenge to the designers of websites on how they can keep the interest of the users, or how to make the Internet surfers addicted to the site. In this study, we will analyse six quality websites that deals with visual designs of web pages.Michael Bernard's (2003) Criteria for Optimal Web Design (Designing for Usability), noticeably, does not contain any unnecessary hyperlinks that could distract the surfer; Bernard knows exactly who his users are. Being an information website, whose users are most likely students of Computer-related courses or anyone interested in web design, Bernard's text is comprehensible and focused on enhancing the website's usability.Foss identifies four reasons why users get lost within the structure: disorientation, embedded digression problem, "art museum" problem, and poor structure (as cited in Bernard, 2003). Bernard, in turn, presents solutions to these difficulties. To avoid confusion, Bernard suggests organising the site according to thetypical users' mental model of how a site should be organised; submenu titles are also helpful. Since arrangement of links can affect search time, Bernard further recommends link presentation according to category. Bernard adheres to the result of his research. I, personally, find Bernard's webpage easy to use. The navigation cues are visible at the top and the bottom of the page; the title of the next or previous page is also shown when the cursor touches the navigation cues. Access to this site is unbelievably speedy, as well. Just as I clicked on the Enter key the webpage immediately appeared. Rick Oppedisano's (2002) Common Principles: A Usable Interface Design Primer upholds the general principle of usability which is often called "transparent interface" that maximises user task completion and minimises interfering factors. Rieman, Franzke, and Redmiles (as cited in Oppedisano, 2002) discover that "when users perform a transaction or action, their cognition is often split between learning and operating the system or user interface (UI)"; hence, UI has to be well-designed to enable the user to focus more on gaining knowledge than troubling himself into finding out the operating system of the website. For this reason, Oppedisano presents "guidelines for minimising user cognitive processing and maximising interface efficiency." The basic rule for Oppedisano is having a consistent style in layout, font, and other elements. Indeed, as a user the very first thing I notice in a website is its style sheet. Fancy colors, font, and images are good to see but noticeably the fancier it gets the slower the browser becomes. However, Oppedisano's webpage has been created in the simplest form. What is good about Oppedisano's study is ensuring that users are given full concern especially when clicking on a transaction that might have a negative consequence. An ample warning should be in place. However, compared to Oppedisano, User Experience Design Director Mike Padilla (2006) tackles UI design in a more comprehensive manner. The key word in his article about taking the good with the bad UI design is compromise; that is, compromise between the downside and the benefit of certain design decisions. With the use of a table, Padilla has clearly presented the "costs and benefits of design decisions." As in writing an essay, knowing the target audience is a must as it plays a vital role in determining the appropriate writing style; as in designing websites, being able to know the site's target users will also enable the designer to plan and execute a more beneficial design. As Padilla points out, critiques can also find some flaws on a good UI design. What is a high-quality design to a user may appear cluttered;

World Culture Music Research Paper. Indonesian Music Essay

World Culture Music Research Paper. Indonesian Music - Essay Example Indonesia is well known for its diverse highlands that possess a wide range of cultures and characters. This eventually explains the availability of different forms of music. The music is significant to audiences in theatre as well as dance. The music of Indonesia is accompanied with various cultural beliefs and practices. Some communities chant as they go on with their rituals. Indonesian music is now well known across the continent and beyond. The richness of the music of Indonesia translates to the various musical instruments that exist within the people of Indonesia. Just as there are various musicians and scholars in Indonesia, the scope of the use of musical instruments is wide and can be discussed under various guiding principles that express the cultures that exist in Indonesia. Indonesians have always used music in nearly all their activities for reasons that can be best described as functional. The music of Indonesia has a wide historical background, just as the cultures th at exist (Hoffman 75). The music has played various roles and has influenced a number of activities and lifestyles of the Indonesian societies. History of Indonesian Music The historical background of Indonesian music cannot be dated to any period. However, the music is as old as the various cultures that exist within the Indonesian areas. Creativity within the local people has been one of the contributing factors that have contributed to the growth and development of Indonesian music. Foreign influences have gone further to introduce different cultural and artistic values that have directly influenced the music (Goldsworthy 309). This has led to hundreds of musical forms that are now dominant in Indonesia as well as the surroundings. In this influential endeavor, the music of Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Flores has been documented and recorded through research by various Indonesian and other international scholars. From various studies, native Indonesian tribes used chants and songs th at were accompanied by various musical instruments in various festivities as well as rituals. The Indonesian republic represents a modern developing nation that a wide kaleidoscope of people, languages as well as cultures. More than one hundred different ethnic groups that speak moire than three hundred languages have maintained the various traditions that reflect the cultures of Indonesia. Due to the existence of the four great religions (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity), music has also been influenced by religious practices that are carried out in Indonesia at large. Throughout history, music, dance and theatrical genres have been used for various functions: to provide entertainment to the ancestors, lend spiritual solemnity to the various religious occasions and provide pleasant entertainment to the worshipers (Anderson 77). In the past, Indonesians considered music as part of their everyday life. In rituals, ceremonies, as well as war, music was a mode of self-expres sion that accompanied various dances. Indonesian archipelago is the largest island in the world. It represents various cultures that are representatives of the music that Indonesia now posses (Sandhyarani).the exiling of Hindus to Bali because of the introduction of Islam in Indonesia is said to have contributed to the development of music of the island of Bali. Types of music Due to the scope of the Indonesian islands as well as the diversity of the cultures that are present in Indonesia, there are various types of music in Indonesia that represent that various tribes and language groups. The various types of music include Folk music, Tembang sunda, among others. The existence

Ethical Dilemma Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Dilemma Executive Summary - Essay Example It is something which is very common in public sector and law enforcement firms, yet as a responsible citizen and police officer it is my duty to take necessary actions to stop this practice. As I am transferred to the current police department only recently, I must not show impatience in reporting the misconduct done by any colleague/police officer. I will secretly collect necessary facts and gather the past records of that officer on my own. I will wait till the time I have strong evidence that supports my claim. However, since that officer has strong connections and has established goodwill and PR among influential people while on the other hand, I have not yet built the integrity and trust which is required to challenge an experienced officer. Therefore, in this case I have several options: I will find out the name and designation of his immediate supervisor or the person whom he reports to; and I will quietly collect his/her views about bribery. I can send an anonymous letter to the internal affairs office of the police department which is responsible to carry out investigation about any misconduct or police abuse. Many countries have state police posts that can be used to report the cases of corruption. However, in case there is extreme violation of law, I will have to take serious actions by reporting anonymously to public safety board which deals with officer’s disciplinary actions and police corruption. Otherwise, I will try to find local FBI near my department from their official website i.e. http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm. If the issue is not yet resolved then I will write an anonymous letter to the editor of the local newspaper and will send him/her the police disciplinary records because when media is involved serious efforts are made by concerned authorities to investigate the claims of corruption and breach of employment code of conduct. The professional implications of police reporting can be very serious especially when one is repo rting against some big fishes of the police department. In such situation following consequences may occur: If my name is revealed, my job will be at risk or perhaps I will be transferred to some other department/city. I may receive threats and the security of my family can be endangered. Police officer can send me behind the bars by putting false accusations against me or due to some false disciplinary charges. There are two ways to deal with these consequences; first is to report the corruption claims to the most trusted authority that ensures that my identity will not be revealed under any circumstance. Second condition is to challenge on the basis of strong evidence, public support and recordings of victims. Some countries use the tactic of â€Å"mystery audit† in which some senior police officials or people from investigating agencies disguise as common people and go to the police department for filing a complaint. They talk to the officers who are the suspects of corrup tion and create a situation of offering bribe or gifts. If officer(s) accept the bribe then the suspect is caught red handed. This method is very successful for conducting unbiased investigation. On the other hand, the liabilities of not reporting such acts are much greater than the consequences of reporting those acts. When an officer breaches the law, its impacts are not seen on the individual or departmental level only, rather it affects the whole system. The rights of the

BeckerKevinE2Phil100F2014 Essay Example for Free

BeckerKevinE2Phil100F2014 Essay Empiricism, or the belief that knowledge is achieved through the senses, was a popular belief amongst some of the greatest modern philosophers. Perhaps the most prominent Empiricists were John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume, all of whom are regarded as some of the most influential philosophers of the last 500 years. Each of those philosophers can be considered Empiricists due to the importance of experience throughout their philosophical principles. More specifically, Lockes empirical views can be seen in his idea of the primary and secondary qualities of an object. Berkeleys empiricism is evident in his critique of Lockes concept of abstract ideas. Lastly, Hume can be considered as the most consistent empiricist of the group as he did not waver from experience being the source of knowledge and at the root of reasoning. His views are evident in his concept of humans having perceptions and impressions and his idea of â€Å"self†. John Lockes empirical views are evident throughout his philosophical principles. Locke believed that there were no such things as innate thoughts and that the only way a person could obtain  knowledge about something is through directly experiencing it. This is especially evident in his explanation of objects having primary and secondary qualities. Locke suggests that all things posses two qualities about them: primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities consist of traits that are completely within the object such as the shape of a ball. This primary quality about the ball will not change even when viewed from a different perspective because that is the physical structure of the ball. On the contrary, a secondary quality is a trait that requires perception by an observer. Secondary qualities are relative to the observer and change depending on the observers perspective or the physical differences between observers. For example, the color of the ball can change depending on the lighting in the room or due to an observer being color blind. In his 4th book of his Essay, Locke writes,â€Å"We cannot demonstrate the certain equality of any two degrees of whiteness; because we have no certain standard to measure them by, nor means to distinguish every the least real difference, the only help we have being from our senses, which in this point fail us. † (Locke, Book 4, Chp 2, #13). In other words, he is saying that the secondary quality of the color white cannot be scientifically quantified because each individuals perception of the color is different which prevents us from being able to determine the true â€Å"whiteness† of the given object. Locke makes this distinction between primary and secondary qualities in a response to the idea of innate thoughts, or thoughts that are naturally ingrained in our minds without having to experience them. Further, Locke is suggesting that innate thoughts are simply  common experiences. Locke also believed that the primary qualities of an object were things that could quantified and measured by the Newtonian science of the time. Lastly, Lockes concept of primary and secondary qualities indicates that he is an Empiricist because they show that he believes that we need past experiences in order to have an idea about different objects. Without experiencing the color red previously, we wouldnt have an idea of how red a ball is. George Berkeleys philosophical methodologies and principles reflect empiricist ideas as well. This is evident in his critique of John Lockes concept of abstract ideas. According to Locke, we can come up with an abstract view of, say a cat, by taking our experiences of many different cats and extracting from them common properties that all cats have. This abstract idea therefore applies to all cats despite their size, breed, or coat color. Berkeley argued that these abstract ideas cannot be thought about in our mind without creating an image of a particular cat in our minds. One cannot imagine a cat that is neither big or little, of no specific breed, or colorless. Berkeley addresses this idea in his book A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, saying, â€Å"Whether others have this wonderful faculty of ABSTRACTING THEIR IDEAS, they best can tell: for myself, I find indeed I have a faculty of imagining, or representing to myself, the ideas of those particular things I have perceived. † (Berkeley, 10). In other words, Berkeley is saying that unlike others who claim to be able to come up with abstract ideas, he is only capable of imagining these â€Å"abstract ideas† with previous particulars that he already experienced at some point. The author of our textbook, William Lawhead summarized Berkeleys critique quite nicely, saying â€Å"We can think of, speak about, and imagine only particular things. † (pg 322). Furthermore, George Berkeleys critique of abstract ideas reflects his empiricist views because they show how important experience is to his concept of ideas. To Berkeley, one cannot come up with abstract ideas because we always draw on previous experiences to give us an idea of what were thinking about. This is a more strict version of Empiricism compared to Lockes. David Humes concept of perceptions are simply the contents of our consciousness, similar to what Locke would call an idea (Lawhead, 336). Hume further breaks down perceptions into two categories: impressions and ideas. To Hume, all original experiences are considered impressions. These impressions remain as â€Å"copies† in our mind and we draw upon them when we have a similar experience later on in life. These â€Å"copies† of the original impression are what Hume calls an idea. In his work, Treatise of Human Nature, Hume says â€Å"When we search for the characteristic, which  distinguishes the memory from the imagination, we must immediately perceive, that it cannot lie in the simple ideas it presents to us; since both these faculties borrow their simple ideas from the impressions, and can never go beyond these original perceptions. † (Hume, Section 5). In other words, Hume is saying that when one is trying to think about a characteristic of an object we always revert back to the original impression that we previously had in our mind from a past experience. Further, Hume is saying that even simple ideas about an object are faint memories of our previous experiences. David Hume can be considered the most consistent Empiricist especially when considering his idea on a persons perception of self (or lack thereof in this case). Lawhead described this simply by saying â€Å"Hume maintains that when we introspect we only find some particular perception of one sort another. If you focus on your experience right now you find puzzlement, tiredness, heat, anger.. What you dont find is a self. † (pg 340). This is an extremely empirical way of looking at ones self. Hume is such a consistent. Empiricist that he goes so far to say that we cannot have an idea of our self, because our minds always revert back to previous experiences of other perceptions. In addition to this, Hume suggests that we cannot even be certain about things such as the sun rising tomorrow. To Hume, the only reason that we know the sun will rise tomorrow is because of all of the past experiences and perceptions that weve had of the sun rising each morning. Therefore, we can only be certain of things that we have experienced. These two beliefs by Hume are evidence that he was the most strict Empiricist of the  group mentioned above. John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume can all be considered Empiricists due to the prevalence of experience in their philosophical principles.Lockes experience oriented principles can be observed in his idea of primary and secondary qualities of an object. Berkeleys can be seen in his critique of Lockes abstract ideas, which Berkeley suggests do not exist. Lastly, David Hume, who can be considered the most strict Empiricist, demonstrates his empirical views in his concepts of impressions and idea and his lack of self perception.

The Corner Stone Of Blue Ocean Strategy Marketing Essay

The Corner Stone Of Blue Ocean Strategy Marketing Essay To sustain in the market and show high performance formula is not competition in overcrowded industries. The mantra is to create blue oceans of untapped market space. There are two distinct kinds of space, red and blue oceans, in a business environment. Red ocean represents all the industries that exist and perform by the way of competing with the rivalries. Here the industry boundaries are already defined and followed, the competing rules of the game are known. Companies try to surpass their rivals to clutch a larger share of product or service demand. As the market space gets packed, scenario for economic profits and productivity growth are reduced. Products become commodities  or  niche, and the cutthroat competition turns the ocean red as blood. Blue oceans denote a new concept, not the ones that exist today it is the unknown market space, untainted by competition. Here, demand is created rather than grabbing the existing one. There is ample opportunity for growth, both in terms of profit and the speed at which the profit is obtained; competition is immaterial because the rules of the game are not yet framed. Blue Ocean is an analogy to describe the wider, deeper potential of market space that is not yet explored.   The logic behind blue ocean strategy contrasts with the traditional model that focuses on competing in an already existing market space. The management is not able to differentiate between red and blue ocean strategy because of the difficulty they face in breaking themselves from the competition. Companies have got huge capacities to develop new industries and re-design the existing ones, a fact that is exhibited in the deep changes that are necessary in the way industries are classified. Blue ocean strategy has been the pioneer in the standardisation, continuity and replacement of the segmentation of the industries. To win in the future, companies mustnt challenge with each other. The only way to overcome the competition is to stop trying to be in the competition. The business atmosphere in which most business strategy and management has been based on is changing, evolving or disappearing. Some of this change is due to technology. Other reasons might be culture, globalization, speed of new information, or the role of demographics in the workplace. There are 3 characteristics that contribute to a Good Strategy. 1) It is focused; it is not diffused across all potential aspects of the market. 2) The shape of the value curve diverges from any potential competitors. 3) It has a compelling tagline. STRATEGIES INVOLVED VALUE INNOVATION The corner-stone of Blue Ocean Strategy is Value Innovation. Instead of focussing on thrashing the competition, the spotlight should be on making it erroneous by creating a bound in the value for buyers and creating uncontested market space. A blue ocean is created when a company achieves value innovation that creates value simultaneously for both the buyer and the company. The  innovation  (in product, service, or delivery) must raise and create value for the market, while simultaneously reducing or eliminating features or services that are less valued by the current or future market. Value can be identified in the conventional  market segmentation  and offering value  and  lower cost. Value innovation only occurs when organizations have aligned innovation with utility, price and costs. The market must be ready to accept the product, meaning that timing is a major check. The focus is on both differentiation and low cost to provide value to both customers and the organization. Value innovation can be created in a way that the companys actions are favorable for both the company, through reduced cost structure and to its customers through value proposition. Cost savings are made by disseminating and bringing down the factors an industry competes on. In case of buyers value, it is increased by rising and creating elements the existing industries has not offered in the past. Additive costs are reduced further, as scale of economies kick in due to the increase in volumes of sale. THE STRATEGY CANVAS The strategy canvas acts as an indicative and an action framework for structuring a blue ocean strategy. Strategy Canvas seizes the current state in the market by detailing the factors players compete on in product, service and delivery. This enables the company to gain insight into the areas where the competitors are currently investing, the factors on which the industry is presently contending on its deliverables, and the end products the customers receive from the existing offerings from the competitors market. The four actions framework offers a technique that smashes the trade-off between differentiating the products and reduction in cost, thus creating a new value curve. It attends to the four key queries of the issues that an industry takes for granted and issues that need to be eliminated; factors that needs to be reduced below industry standards; factors that needs to be raised above industry standards; and what to offer that the industry has not offered before. The eliminate-reduce-raise-create grid encourages the companies to act on all four areas to form a new value curve. By motivating the companies to fill the grid with eliminating, reducing, raising, and creating actions the grid provides four immediate benefits: it urges them to concurrently adopt differentiation in the products and adopting reduction of costs; identifies companies who are only creating thereby raising costs; makes it easier for the management to understand and comply; and that drives the companies to scrutinize every factor the industry competes on. This is against the Michael Porters Five Force Strategy which implies that an organization should dominate the market in all sectors to attain competitive advantage and gain excellence. Blue Ocean Strategy embeds the concept of slowing down profit attrition with an efficient cut throat strategy for an already existing market, and through the profit made out of it they can increase the financial resources available for new innovative investments and thus their chances of finding an unexploited market with plenty of potential consumers. Figure 1: Four Actions Framework REDUCE Which factors should be reduced well below industry standards? ELIMINATE Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? CREATE Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered? A NEW VALUE CURVE RAISE Which factors should be raised well above the industrys standard? SEQUENCE OF BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY The essential concept of blue ocean strategy is to get the strategic sequence right. This sequence washes out and authenticates blue ocean ideas. This reduces the business model risk. In this model, prospective blue ocean ideas must pass through a chain of buyers utility, price, cost, and adoption. At each step there are only two options: a yes, in which case the idea may move on to the next step, or no where the company can either park the idea or rethink it until a yes. Figure 2 : Sequence of Blue Ocean Strategy BUYER UTILITY Is there exceptional buyer utility in your business idea? A Commercially Viable Blue Ocean Idea ADOPTION What are the adoption hurdles in actualizing your business idea? Are you addressing them up front? COST Can you attain your target to profit at your strategic price? PRICE Is your price easily accessible to the mass of buyers? LG ELECTRONICS A CASE STUDY LG ELECTRONICS, wanted to implement Blue Ocean Management to make competition irrelevant. Their strategy was to redefine industry boundaries by focusing more on high end products and entering new segments of emerging markets like China, India and Middle East and Africa and thus create uncontested market space. They shifted their focus from increase in volume to increase in value through high-end product innovation in all of its four product divisions: Mobile Communications, Digital Appliance, Digital Display and Digital Media. Each domain of the company planned to establish high end value added products. In the mobile phone division, LG Chocolate and the Black Label series are LGs Blue Ocean operational strategy in action, which are expected to generate around 30 per cent of sales and 50 per cent of profits by 2010. LGs Chocolate became best selling product through intensifying research capabilities and high-end design which was in the midterm strategies for the company. The Digital Display Company was the leading producer of digital TVs in LCD and Plasma modules. In the increasingly competitive digital TV market, LG Electronics had cutting-edge products through innovative products. Digital Display division was formed in joint venture with Philips to produce LCD TV and plasma TV in 2001. The digital display division had earned $ 2.77 billion which constituted 28% of their global sales in the year 2005. Their business goal being becoming the dominant leader in digital TV and plasma TV, the division had undergone breakthrough innovations and products under the blue ocean strategy. The Digital Appliance, another SBU of LG Electronics, was a leader and pioneer in home appliance products, like air conditioner, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, microwave oven, and other home appliances. They had developed the worlds inbuilt TV, refrigerator, ARTCOOL air conditioners, steam washing machines and many more core technologies for home appliance parts and products. Building on successful home appliance operations, the company was also expanding their business scope to have a greater emphasis on new product sectors such as commercial air conditioners, built-in kitchen appliances and home networks. The digital media segment, with their global sales of $5.7 billion generated synergy with its audio and video (home theatre, DVD recorder), digital storage (super multi DVD rewriter) and personal computer (desktop and notebook PC) divisions65. Through continued technology innovation, the company had developed the worlds first Satellite DMB notebook66 in 2005. In particular, the company was actively penetrating multimedia product markets with mobile technologies, such as PDAs and MP3 players, and with composite products, such as super-multi drives and super-multi DVD recorders. They were also focusing on its Car Infotainment business.

The Case Study Concerning Joelle Essay -- Business Ethics

Ethics plays a very important role in one social system and basically on how the people will make their actions or decide on a particular thing on whether it is the right or the wrong thing. Ethical consideration is very important. It helps a person or a group of person understands whether the actions are right or wrong. Ethics is a very critical factor most especially when considering where the ethical standards are to applied. Aside from it, weighing results of actions or decision is also another major concern because of the fact that a person has critically analyze whose side is needed to satisfied. There are instances that moral obligations are also considered, in which moral is defined as a universal accepted personal human behavior that allows a person to decide whether an action or decision is good or bad. In the case of Joelle, this study will significantly identify the different ethical principles that can be applied in the case. In addition to it, the study will also arrive in one ethical theory that Joelle can be applied in her situation in order for her to effectively determine what she will do and if her decision and action can be considered ethical or the right thing. UTILITARIANISM Utilitarianism is an ethical theory in which determining the rightness or wrongness of action or decision is based on determining whether the greatest benefit or happiness will be provided in the highest or greatest number of population. This simply means that action or decision must be based on the highest amount or number of beneficiary (Martineau, 2006). However, this ethical theory has two major types. First is the â€Å"act utilitarianism† and second is the â€Å"rule utilitarianism.† Act utilitarianism specifically adh... ... the pollution, it can be concluded that total external population has the most number of population that will benefit from the decision. Generally, the position that Joelle must take is to mention the illegal dumping modus operandi of her company. Works Cited Dooley, D. (1996). Equality in Community: Sexual Equality in the Writings of William Thompson and Anna Doyle Wheeler. Ireland: Cork University Press. Frederick, R. (2002). A companion to business ethics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Gardiner, S.M. (2005). eVirtue Ethics, Old and New. New York: Cornell University Press. Kaufman, A. (1999). Welfare in the Kantian State. New York: Oxford University Press. Martineau, J. (2006). Types of Ethical Theory, Volume 1. New York: Cosimo, Inc. Reese, C.D. and Eidson, J.V. (1999). Handbook of OSHA construction safety and health. Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press

Florences Market in the Renaissance Essay -- Mercantile Economy

THESIS STATEMENT During the Renaissance, Florence profited from a mercantile economy due to the guilds, the quality and variety of goods and the style and management of the market place. PURPOSE STATEMENT Through historical and economic data this research paper will express how Florence flourished from a mercantile economy in the Renaissance. INTRODUCTION The Renaissance was the rebirth of Europe and it all started in the city of Florence. Florence and everything that made a standard Renaissance city: painters, sculptors, writers, architects, and a vivid culture. Soon all of Europe would follow in Florence’s footsteps and â€Å"the setting is so rich, varied, rambunctious, and inventive as Italy in the Renaissance† (Cohen 1). The painters and sculptors defined Renaissance culture and could actually make a living because they were being sponsored. The Renaissance was the age of the merchants and because of the merchants the economies and culture rose. The Renaissance is remembered by many people for the works of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Raphael. What many people do not know about the Renaissance is that the textile industry was more famous and profitable than the painter industry. Florence was the place to get any of your goods because of its location. Merchants went to Florence to sell their unique goods, buy, sell, or make cloth, and attend the guilds. Florence was the trend-setter of the Renaissance, whatever they did everyone else wanted to do because Florence was very successful. â€Å"No great city has ever been built far from the water†¦ [Florence] was now more vulnerable, but it had easy access to an important trade route. It had good communications by river to the west, and practicable passes through the mountains ... ...ll come to buy things. The markets still sell the same things like food and clothing but they also sell collectibles, souvenirs, and leather items. Florence’s markets still sell things you never seen before just like the merchant’s did in the Renaissance. Florence’s leather, silk, and cloth items are still popular around the world. â€Å"U.S. importers set a high value on Florence's products, and tourists spend freely in its fashionable shops† (Florence). The quality of goods is has still withstood the years and Florence is still well-known for its leather and silks. The owner’s of the stalls in the markets still like to haggle about the price of their goods and some of them feel insulted if you do not haggle with them. Florence’s start in the Renaissance as the Renaissance city has served them throughout the years and are they still one of the top cities in the world.

What explanations are offered for the development of nationalism?

Introduction The roots of nationalism go back to the middle of the eighteenth century and a movement called romanticism. Affecting art, journalism, philosophy, music, and politics, romanticism was a mood or a disposition that defied rigid definition. It did indicate a revolt against rationalism and a consequent emphasis on sentiment, feeling, and imagination. The emotions of the heart, it was argued, though irrational, should be valued over and above the intellectualizations of the head. So that whereas Rene Descartes had said, â€Å"I think, therefore I am,† Jean-Jacques Rousseau proclaimed, â€Å"A thinking man is a depraved animal.† In this havoc of power and ideas, one familiar face has re-emerged: that of nationalism. For many it is as undesirable as it is unbidden and unexpected. For others its recurrence is regrettable but comes as no surprise. For still others, it symbolizes the only sure way forward after the sudden shatters created by totalitarianism in the de velopmental paths of so numerous societies. For all, nationalism symbolizes a stage in the evolution of humanity to ‘higher forms' of culture, one that should be endured or embraced, but is certainly destined to pass after a few chaotic decades (Smith 1995; Brown, Micheal, 1997).None of these situations seems to accord with the chronological facts or sociological realisms of ethnicity and nationalism. Instead of treating ethnicity and nationalism as phenomenon in their own right, they persist on evaluating them by the yardstick of a liberal evolutionary scheme, overt or tacit, one that is intrinsically problematic and perceptibly irrelevant to the dynamics of nations, nationalism and ethnic conflict.For liberals and socialists dedicated to the view that humanity progresses in stages to greater units of comprehensiveness and higher values, the nation and nationalism can simply represent a halfway house to the aim of a cosmopolitan culture and a global polity. On the one hand, t he nation can be applauded for superseding all those local, inscriptive ties and communities that have controlled innovation and opportunity and enchained the human spirit.Its wider horizons have brought collectively all kinds of peoples with changeable origins, religions, occupations and class backgrounds and turned them into citizens of the defensive, civic nation. Conversely, the nation today has become an obstruction to progress, seeking ineffectively to control the flow of information and the channels of mass communication, and to obstruct and control the great economic institutions–transnational companies, world banks and trade organizations and the global financial and commodities markets.Although the great forces of globalization, economic, political and cultural, have already diluted the power of the nation-state and are fast making all national boundaries and responses obsolete (Schopfin, George, 2000; Hobsbawm 1990: ch. 6). Romanticism rejected the idea of the inde pendence of the individual and stressed identification with an external whole, with something outside of oneself. Quite normally, this outside whole took the form of nature, as marked in the works of such romanticists as Wordsworth in England; Herder, Schiller, and Goethe in Germany; and Hugo, Rousseau, and Madame de Stael in France.Frequently also, the center of one's identification was the â€Å"folk,† the cultural group, or nation. Nationalism, in other words, was a political expression of romanticism (William Booth, 1996, p. A-1). In many ways, the major philosopher of nationalism was Rousseau, whose influence on the French Revolution has been generally recognized. Rousseau's ideal was the small, well-knit community in which each person freely gave himself over, quite literally, to every other person. We should obey the community, Rousseau taught, because in observing the community we obey ourselves.The identity and unity of our wills produce a â€Å"General Will† that is completing, indivisible, infallible, and always for the common good. The individual's commitment and fondness to the community and the General Will are total. French Revolution and Nationalism Following the French Revolution, nationalism spread across the continent of Europe and beyond. In a real sense, the past of nineteenth-century Europe is the history of nationalism or as a minimum this is one way of looking at it. The twentieth century saw the dispersal of nationalism throughout the world.No country has been spared; none is an exemption. â€Å"Some Euro-enthusiasts, have hinted at the prospect of transcending the state and nation by forming a wider federation and a district political identity. Yet the federalists have been continually frustrated by the continuing vivacity of the national idea†. James Mayall, 1990, 94-5 With the exclusion of two brief periods, Western nationalism has continued unabated. For about a decade after each of the two world wars, Western nationalism was in a state of decline, even of ill reputation.It was nationalism, after all, that had set in motion cataclysmic events, leading to appalling waste of human and material resources. But the decline of Western nationalism did not last long. Its renaissance after World War I was much hastened by the fascist and the Nazi movements of the 1920s and 1930s. After the Second World War, Western nationalism owed much of its vitality to the French Gaullist movement of the 1950s and the 1960s. More about this currently. The same world wars that led to the transient decline of nationalism in the West set the stage for the rise of nationalism in the East.The â€Å"new nationalism,† as it came to be called, took place, for the most part, in colonial areas; and it was in large appraise a reaction against the Western policies of imperialism and invasion. At the turn of the century, colonial nationalism (more exactly, anticolonial nationalism) was almost an unknown phenomenon. F ollowing World War I and the disintegration of the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian empires, nationalism began to appear in a few countries, most notably in India.After the Second World War and the dissolution of the German, British, French, and other imperial designs, nationalism mushroomed in formerly colonial countries. Nationalism after Cold War Nationalism takes hold after the Cold war. By 1950, the philosophy of the Nationalism after Cold War had come to control public life in the United States. It was an ideology of American nationalist globalism, in which the United States was seen to be locked in global struggle with forces of international communism, proscribed by a Soviet government intent on world invasion.That struggle was believed to intimidate fundamental American values, most particularly freedom of enterprise and freedom of religion, and the leeway of spreading those values, which were deemed collective, to the rest of the world, which longed for them. Within this i deology, almost all international problems or crises were seen as part of the overarching conflict between the United States and the USSR—between their contending ideologies and ways of life. Within this framework, a threat to â€Å"freedom† anywhere in the world was deemed a risk to the American way of life.This presented a simple, dichotomous view that seemed too many if not most Americans to elucidate the often frustrating and considerably more composite developments of the postwar world. The roots of this philosophy lay in a tradition of belief about America's national mission and destiny, a ritual reaching back to the seventeenth century. Key elements of this ideology were in place at the end of World War II; some developed throughout the war, and others preceded it. The final pieces fell into place between 1945 and 1950.All through those years, the range of U. S. foreign policy discourse grew more and more narrow. Though, American nationalist ideology given the p rincipal underpinning for the broad public consent that supported Cold War foreign policy. Seen through the prism of that principles, the U. S. had emerged from World War II as a completely matured great power, dedicated to comprehending freedom all through the world and prepared to usher in a new golden age in its own image.After the war, the Soviet Union became a relentless foe because it exposed this idea of the American Century. From the late forties through the late eighties, the United States waged cold war against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics not mainly in the name of capitalism or Western civilization (neither of which would have united the American people behind the cause), but in the name of America in the name, that is, of the nation. The potency of the Nationalism ideology that appeared between 1945 and 1950—an principles that dominated U.S. public life at least until the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991—derivative largely from its nati onalist appeal. Yet although the vast scholarly literature on the Cold War, American nationalism remains a little-studied element of postwar U. S. history. Indeed, as Stephen Vaughn noted practically twenty years ago in his study of democracy and nationalism in the propaganda work of the Committee on Public Information during World War I, twentieth-century American nationalism remains a subject deficiently in need of further study.(Vaughn, Stephen, 1980). Involvement of Soviet Empire Since the implosion first of the Soviet empire and then of the Soviet Union itself, nationalism has again affirmed itself as a force on the world scene, one not expected to fade away soon. The scholarly literature on nationalism is voluminous and seems to expand exponentially, mainly in the years since the earth-shaking events of 1989-91. The ideology around which the Cold War consent was forged from 1947 on consisted of three main constructs: national greatness, global accountability, and anticommunism .Anticommunism was the last leg of this ideological triad to fall into place. By illumination why the United States was having such a hard time meeting its global responsibilities while concurrently buttressing the nation's claims to greatness, anticommunism put the entire ideology in working order. The third leg permitted the triad to stand. But the fundamental ideology was one of American nationalist globalism, not anticommunism. In itself, anticommunism was barely new to U. S. political culture in 1947.But with the Soviet Union sitting spanning Eastern and Central Europe, global anticommunism now became a defining constituent in U. S. foreign-policy ideology as signified in public discourse. The perception that the communist threat was worldwide received momentous amplification in 1949, with the â€Å"loss† of China to Mao's army and the Soviet Union's detonation of its first atomic device (William Claiborne, Washington Post, November 24, 1996, p. A-12). Nationalism and Am erican Globalism The idea of the Soviet threat proved relevant precisely because it threatened the idea of the American Century.Global anticommunism fit impressively into the existing mixture of national greatness and global accountability, American nationalism and American globalism—as this mixture had already begun to function as an ideology of nationalist globalism that facilitated many Americans makes sense of their nation's overriding place in the postwar world. Global anticommunism lent increased force to this ideological vision. The appeal of global anticommunism—and particularly the impact of the Truman Doctrine speech of March 12, 1947 should be understood in that context.In 1947 the Truman Doctrine provoked influential debate, though it clearly carried the day. In 1950 the application of that principle to Asia provoked overwhelming support. After the accent of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan in the first six months of 1947, and particularly after co ngressional support of the Marshall Plan in the wake of the Czech coup in February and March of 1948, the range of adequate public debate about the basic objectives of U. S. foreign policy had grown gradually more constricted.Fairly, Henry Wallace attempted to make these objectives a central question of the 1948 presidential campaign. But Wallace and the foreign-policy questions he sought to heave were painted with a red brush that left them beyond the pale of adequate public discussion. Certain basics of the civil rights and labor movements attempted to express dissent over U. S. foreign-policy initiatives in planned terms, but to do so they accepted the terms of the debate as recognized by the Truman administration's stated global objectives.In doing so, groups like the NAACP and the UAW sought to gain both government and public support to precede their own domestic agendas. While both organized labor and African Americans achieved certain objectives as a result, their acceptance of the official objectives of U. S. foreign policy put in to the narrowing of public discourse relating to both national and international issues. In late 1948 and 1949, systematic dissidents who forthrightly opposed the fundamental foreign-policy strategy of the Truman administration, such as W. E. B.Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Henry Wallace, found themselves more insignificant than ever. The UE and other left-wing unions that divergent the Marshall Plan were debarred from the CIO, which in effect took away their status as well thought-of American trade unions. These dissenters had stepped outside the boundaries of legitimate discourse as distinct by the established notions of national greatness, global responsibility, and anticommunism. Wallace definitely preached his own principle of national greatness and global responsibility, but his failure to recognize global anticommunism nevertheless placed him beyond the pale.The lack of fundamental public debate concerning the nature and purposes of U. S. foreign policy after 1950 given to the development of an ever more militarized foreign policy controlled by narrow ideological blinders that covered fundamental international realities. â€Å"The so-called Cold War,† in the words of Joyce and Gabriel Kolko, â€Å"was far less the altercation of the United States with Russia than America's expansion into the entire world—a world the Soviet Union neither proscribed nor created. † (Everett Carll Ladd, 1995)The ideology of American nationalist globalism, which distinct international reality in terms of a Manichaean struggle between the U. S. -led â€Å"free world† and Soviet-controlled communist totalitarianism, served to validate the expansion of U. S. power all through the world while obfuscating the enormous complications of a world experiencing the final collapse of European colonialism. It facilitated most Americans to feel pride in being citizens of a great nation that required only to protect its own way of life and to defend â€Å"free peoples everywhere† from totalitarian aggression.The absence of debate about the fundamental assumptions of U. S. foreign policy throughout most of the Cold War era served to reify that ideological commencement. Nationalism has been a momentous theme of the post-Cold War era. Throughout the Cold War, Americans welcomed refugees from the Captive Nations. After the Cold War, refugees either escaping the terror of dictatorial rulers or wanting to stake their claim to the American Dream lost their cachet with voters (accept those fleeing Castro's Cuba).â€Å"The arrival of the greatest number of immigrants as the wave of eastern, central, and southern European ethnics in 1901-1910 caused anti-immigrant commitment to spread† (â€Å"Immigration,† Time/CNN, All Politics, Internet, March 25, 1996). Passions ran high in vote-rich states such as California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, New York, and California . Throughout the 1994 midterm elections, Californians ratified Proposition 187, which banned all state spending on illegal immigrants and requisite police to report suspected illegal to the California Department of Justice and the U.S. Immigration Service. Television sets sputtered with pictures of illegal Mexicans swarming across the border as a presenter intoned, â€Å"They just keep . † (Barone and Ujifusa,1996, p. 81). As the campaign escalated, Republicans Jack Kemp and William Bennett accused the measure, claiming it was â€Å"politically unwise and essentially at odds with the best tradition and courage of our party. † (Dick Kirschten, 1995, p. 150). Regardless of their protestations, Proposition 187 won handily, 59 percent to 41 percent.But whereas whites gave it 64 percent backing, 69 percent of Hispanics disapproved–a sharp demarcation of the new â€Å"us-versus-them† politics. (J. Joseph Huthmacher, 1969) Pete Wilson, the GOP governor who made the vote initiative a cornerstone of his reelection bid, won by an almost equal vote of 55 percent to 41 percent. Two years later, Kemp realigned his immigration stance once he was chosen by Bob Dole to be the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee. ConclusionHowever, the role of nationalism, and particularly the nationalist symbolism of American world power, remains a derelict factor in our understanding of the Cold War's origins. As the Cold War itself recedes into history and the view that the Russians ongoing it and the Americans won it becomes ever more commonplace, it is more important than ever to observe the ways in which the United States contributed to the Cold War's origins, mainly through the universalist pretensions of its political culture.The triumphalism embedded in Francis Fukuyama's view that the end of the Cold War marked â€Å"the end of history† constitutes a new, traditionally contingent variation on the ideology that framed that conflict from the beg inning. In a world growing less rather than more pliant to the dictates of U. S. policy, such ideological thinking is potentially quite precarious. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union two years later, the ideological basics of American nationalist globalism have been loosened but not undone.There is no longer a domineering consensus, because there is no longer a prime perception of a single, overarching threat to the United States. But most Americans are quite sure that their country won the Cold War and that they are citizens of the world's favored nation. As the Persian Gulf War demonstrated, national enormity and global responsibility can activate a potent public consensus behind large-scale intervention without anticommunism playing a role.Until we have a more thorough debate over the nature and purposes of our nation's foreign policy in a multifaceted rapidly changing world, we remain in danger of falling back into an ideological descr iption of international realities. If that should happen particularly if it should happen in combination with declining U. S. global domination, domestic economic travails, and the determination of awesome U. S. military power, it could pose a grave new threat itself, both to the wellbeing of the republic and to the wellbeing of the world. References: â€Å"Immigration,† Time/CNN, All Politics, Internet, March 25, 1996. Barone and Ujifusa, â€Å"The Almanac of American Politics†, 1996, p. 81. Brown, Micheal E., Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict (MIT:1997); Dick Kirschten, â€Å"Second Thoughts,† National Journal, January 21, 1995, p. 150. Everett Carll Ladd, America at the Polls, 1994 ( Storrs, Connecticut: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, 1995), p. 124. Hobsbawm, E.J., Nations and Nationalism since 1780 (Cambridge:1992); J. Joseph Huthmacher, Massachusetts: People and Politics, 1919-1933 ( New York: Atheneum, 1969), p. 162. Mayall, James, Nationalism and International Society (Cambridge,1990); Schopfin, George, Nations, Identity, Power: The New Politics of Europe (Hurst, 2000) Smith, A., Nations and Nationalism in a Global Era (1995) Vaughn, Stephen. Holding Fast the Inner Lines: Democracy, Nationalism, and the Committee on Public Information. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1980 William Booth, â€Å"In a Rush, New Citizens Register Their Political Interest,† Washington Post, September 26, 1996, p. A-1. William Claiborne, â€Å"Democrats Don't Have Lock on Hispanic Vote, Latino Leaders Say,† Washington Post, November 24, 1996, p. A-12.

Loose/Strict Constructionist Essay

By both definition and widespread perception the Jeffersonian-Republicans were strict constructionists, meaning they closely followed the framework of the Constitution. On the other hand, the belief was that Federalists, who thought the Constitution was open for interpretation, were loose constructionists. Although both the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (Democratic-Republicans) mainly supported these theories, they, like other politicians of the time, often made exceptions to their â€Å"policies. † During Jefferson’s Presidency, he often conveyed his strict constructionist stance regarding certain issues; therefore he followed the ‘defined’ ideals of the Democratic-Republican Party. After just entering office (August of 1800), Jefferson sent a message to Gideon Granger (Doc. A), a future cabinet member. His letter depicted his opposition regarding the idea of a strong, â€Å"single† centralized government in America (a Federalist-minded view). For example, one of the most noteworthy things Jefferson did during his political career was outwardly oppose Hamilton’s plan for a National Bank. This truly demonstrated Jeffersonian-Republican opposition (before 1800) towards any sort of Federalist ideal. Throughout his political career, he also portrayed his belief in the Constitution as it was written, rather than accept views of the Federalists (which, he implied, would lead to a monarchy). During his last year in office (1808), Jefferson is shown to have written another letter (Doc. B), this time to a Mr. Samuel Miller. Here, he re-asserted his desire for a government to follow the ideals of the Constitution, and thus make sure there will be a full separation between church and state (first amendment rights). James Madison, also being a Democratic-Republican, supported, for the most part, the same principals Thomas Jefferson did. As shown by Document H, Madison is depicted as to standing firm on his Republican ideals when affirming his position: that funds cannot be set apart for the development of national transportation because â€Å"such a power is not expressly given by the Constitution. † Not only did he express his anger towards a loose following of the Constitution in Doc. H, but Madison also went as far as vetoing a popular â€Å"Bonus-Bill. Although it was unpopular (especially amongst Federalists), he vetoed the proposed legislation because he believed it seemingly gave the government powers that the Constitution had not granted. Although both Presidents mostly stood firm regarding their strict constructionists views (as explained before), they, along with many other politicians (including Federalists), at times, had acted incredibly hypocritical when it came to their stances. Often it was demonstrated that Federalists became more strict, while Republicans became increasingly loose. First, Federalist Daniel Webster demonstrated this change in political position in document D. In his speech, he opposed President Madison’s position regarding a mandated military draft. He claimed that Madison was acting outside the guidelines of the Constitution, which illustrated Webster’s change from a loose constructionist to more of a strict constructionist. Secondly, Jefferson, a self-proclaimed strict constructionist also joined the group of political hypocrites. For example, Jefferson’s most grand defiance of the Constitution of the United States was his approval of the Louisiana Purchase. Even though the Constitution didn’t necessarily allow for such action, Jefferson made an executive decision to pursue the idea of expanding America, and thus starting a westward movement. Apparently the success of the Louisiana Purchase must’ve altered Jefferson’s mindset, because eight years after his Presidency (1816), Jefferson wrote a letter to Samuel Kercheval (Doc. G), which gave support to exploring some change/further interpretation of the Constitution. Lastly, Republicans also at times slandered Madison for being too much like a Federalist (Webster in Doc. D and Doc. F). In this document (F), Randolph outwardly spoke against his executively proposed tariffs of 1816, which truly angered many strict constructionists. Not only was he slandered for his proposed tariffs, but also his establishment of the â€Å"American System† that favored the re-establishment of a Second National Bank in America. These examples of prominent politicians slightly swaying from their political party, demonstrate the presence of political opportunists even in the 1800s. â€Å"When judged by the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison (for the most part), it would appear that Jeffersonian-Republicans were indeed strict constructionists. It also appeared that both Presidents, along with other politicians, chose certain times to act hypocritical† (Parker); Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase and Madison’s re-establishment of a national bank are two portrayals of those instances. In general, the politicians of 1800-1817 laid the foundation for political opportunists to maneuver their way into power by challenging normal ways of thinking/unpopular philosophies. This precedent is still being followed today, and although it may not be too beneficial at times, it has strengthened democracy and this republic of the United States of America.

Explore the techniques used Essay

Explore the techniques used by Carol Ann Duffy to create contrasting â€Å"voices† by comparing two of the persona poems. In the poem â€Å"Fraud†, Duffy takes on the persona of an historical figure and creates a voice for it. She writes from the point of view of this character. In doing so, Duffy portrays the feelings and emotions of that character as she sees them. The character in â€Å"Fraud† is a Jewish man whose family were all killed in the Nazi holocaust. His name was Jon Ludwick Hoch, who later changes his name to Robert Maxwell. This was so that he could escape his past and what he left behind when he left Slovakia and to help him fit in when he moved to England. A way in which a â€Å"voice† is created in this poem is through use of the language, this marks it so you can tell it can only come from this specific character. The language is very direct and factual, giving no alternatives. â€Å"What was my aim? To change from a bum a To a billionaire. † The language exposes a lot about this persona. It shows that he was intelligent and cunning and knows what he is talking about. The character is not self pitying like that of the persona in Havisham,but condsending. The two characters through the use of different voices in each poem are portrayed as once being very vulnerable but now have become hardened by time. â€Å"Poverty’s dumb. Take it from me Sunny Jim. † This quote is from â€Å"Fraud† this shows how the voice is dominating and condescending. When looking at the poem you can immediately see that the line length is generally short, with no more than fourteen words per line and no less than two. This may be a method in which the personas thoughts are expressed, very rapid and direct thoughts. A lot of the lines end with â€Å"M†, for example â€Å"scum, slum. † This â€Å"M† sound is crude and suggests that the â€Å"voice† is similar to that of a whining and spoilt child. Which, in turn, when you research the real life character, says a lot about the person. He Lots of words in the poem are mono syables which gives a heavy beat to the end of the line. The character speaks in colloquial language, using a lot of slang words; this gives us an immediate opinion of the character. There is a frequent use of curse words this gives you the impression that the character is very direct not only in his conversations with people but with his whole out look to life. Words such as â€Å"Mother fucker† are swear words, but when used in this context in the play it gives a depth to the character. Through Duffy’s use of words we as readers can learn more about the character she is portraying/ A device that Duffy has used in this poem and with a lot of previous poems is the use of ellipsis. For example, the man speaks elliptically, his attitude towards things and he doesn’t explain himself. This shows that his character is â€Å"Shady â€Å", he elliptically refers to contemporary things. When he is talking about God, he talks elliptically about a lesbian sex show. â€Å"Then there’s Him- for whom I paid for a butch and femme To make him come. † To create the contrasting voice in this poem, Duffy uses the above techniques. But what techniques are used in another of her persona poems Havisham? Havisham is a character taken from literature and given a voice by Duffy. The woman in question is the tragic Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’s novel â€Å"Great Expectations. † Some history to the character in Havisham is; she was jilted at the alter by her lover whom she was due to marry. She never really recovered from that day. Inside her house she kept the wedding feast as it was, at this point rotting and rat infested. She wore her once beautiful wedding dress, now reduced to blackened rags. The point is, she wanted to keep everything exactly the way it was the day of her wedding, in hope that her lover would come back to her. Clearly from the outset there is still bitterness for the love she lost unsuspectedly. The first literary device used in this poem, in the first line is an oxymoron when referring to her lover. This suggests what she once felt for him, and what she thinks of him now. An oxymoron is a contradiction, so it begs the question, how can he be both of these things? â€Å"Beloved sweetheart bastard. † As in Fraud, there is a use of elliptical language which leaves the reader asking themselves questions about the character and what she is referring to. â€Å"Not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead . Prayed for it So hard I have dark green pebbles for eyes, Ropes on the back of my hand I could strangle with. † Who is he? When was â€Å"then†? To make this more effective and dramatic, Duffy uses a metaphor to try and convey what it feels like. What it feels like when she is saying how much she has longed for him to be dead. Her eyes are compared to â€Å"dark green pebbles†. This has all sorts of connotations, what does a dark green pebble feel like? The first thing that comes to my mind is that it is referring to how she has become cold and almost unhuman. This is what he has reduced her to. Another metaphor is employed in the same stanza when she talks about the ropes on her hands. Of course, she does not literally have ropes on her hands; its connotations are that of veins. The veins on her hands are bulging, through the stress she has been put through. This poem is full of rage and anguish, unlike Fraud where the main tone was demeaning of others. The woman in this poem is extremely self pitying and is completely self absorbed over what this man did to her. She is lonely and lost, grieving for her lost love. This poem is not normally structured; it does not flow as most poems do. In the first two stanzas there are two or three words, then a full stop. This method is to give that line a more dramatic and edgy feel, to set off the enigmas in the poem. â€Å"Spinster. I stink and remember. † â€Å"Beloved sweetheart bastard. † Both of the personas in these poems are not happy or jubilant in any way, they are depressing figures that eventually come to their end. The point is that similar methods are used to create the two contrasting voices. The way in which you use them and the language used is what really determines the creation of a contrasting voice and persona.

Qualitative Research Critique Essay Example

Qualitative Research Critique Essay Example Qualitative Research Critique Essay Qualitative Research Critique Essay Introduction Nurses are responsible in providing holistic, quality care to their clients. In order to effectively provide such care Boswell and Cannon (2009, p. 2 7) states that nurses must base their provision of care on the most current, up-to-date health information available and sound nursing knowledge. This is where evidence-based practice (EBP) comes in. Polit and Beck (2010, p. 4) defined EBP as the use of the best clinical evidence in making patient care desicions. This usually comes from research conducted by nurses and other healthcare professionals. Thus it is pertinent that research reports are critically analyzed. A research critique aims to measure the value and significance of a study. These are determined by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the report (Brockopp Tolsma, 2003, p. 400). Recommendations for areas of improvements are also included in a research critique. This paper critically appraises a qualitative research article titled Womens perception of being pregnant and having pregestational diabetes (Lavender, T. , Platt, M. J. , Tsekiri, E. , Casson, I. , Byrom, S. , Baker, L. , et al. , 2010, p. 589-595). Title and Abstract The title of a research report is the first thing that readers look at to have a gross idea about what the study is about (Brockopp Tolsma, 2003, p. 446). It should contain 15 words or less and in qualitative studies, the title would typically include the central phenomenon and group under investigation (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 89). In their research report, the researchers used 9 words for the title to accurately describe their study. From the title, we can tell that the central phenomenon is ‘pregestational diabetes and the population being studied is women. This is consistent throughout the study as the participants include women who have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, although the title did not specify the pregnancy status of the participants. This may mislead readers into thinking that the study was being done only on pregnant women. The title also did not specify where the study was being conducted. It would be good if it did so that readers can gauge the context of the study. We can also tell from the title that this is a qualitative study using phenomenological approach since the study is exploring women’s perceptions. According to Polit and Beck (2010, p. 9), the abstract is a concise summary of the study written in 100-150 words. This should include the problem, how the study was done, the number of participants and the major findings (Brockopp Tolsma, 2003, p. 67). The researchers used specific headings to organize their summary for the study. It is systematic and enabled readers to find information with ease. Althoug h the abstract is slightly longer than recommended, the researchers addressed the essential components such as problem (pregnancy with pregestational diabetes), methods (focus groups and individual interviews), results and conclusion (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 9). The purpose and context of the study were clearly stated and the information provided was consistent with the contents of the research report. The abstract built on the title by elaborating on the issue of interest thus enticing readers to read further. Literature Review Information from literature provides a foundation and framework for research (Brockopp Tolsma, 2003, p. 139) and in qualitative studies, a conceptual framework is essential as the study have to be linked to other research ideas about the topic (Holloway Wheeler, 2002, p. 31). As stated by Polit and Beck (2010, p. 85), a literature review should supply readers with an impartial, systematic summary and analysis of the current state of evidence on the chosen to pic. The researchers provided a comprehensive and well-organized review of literature in a logical manner. They started by listing the complications of pregnancy in women with pregestational diabetes and how risk of complications can be reduced with preconception care. They then pointed out that less than half of the women actually received such care. This prompted them find out why many did not receive the care that they should. The researchers identified gaps in knowledge from the various reviews (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 185). They acknowledge that although there is an abundance of literature documenting outcome data related to management of diabetes in pregnant woman, there are few qualitative studies that explore issues of reproductive health and diabetes from the viewpoint of the woman. They highlighted a Swedish study of womens perspective and pointed out its limitations. These gaps supported the need for further study. There are 33 sources, of which 26 were cited in the review. The researchers used 18 primary sources from reputable medical and nursing journals. This strengthened the quality of the review as primary sources are the most reliable and are expansive and impartial (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 171). The article was accepted in 2009 and out of the 18 primary sources, 15 were over the recommended period of 3 to 5 years (Houser, 2008, p. 139). This was justified when the researchers pointed out the limited studies done on womens experiences and perceptions. There is also 1 source from 1962 but this is exceptional as it as a seminal work (Houser, 2008, p. 39). Study Design This is without a doubt, a qualitative study. It is appropriate because qualitative research is a systematic approach into understanding the experiences of others (Houser, 2008, p. 480) which is in tune with the objectives of this study. The researchers chose to use a Hermenuetic Phenomenological approach to explore the perceptions of women with diabetes and its impact on their reproduct ive health. This is because they want to put emphasis on the centrality of the participants in exploring the meanings of the phenomena (Lavender et al, 2010). Like Phenomenology, Hermeneutic Phenomenology is concerned with lived experiences but is focused in highlighting details within experiences with a goal of creating meaning and achieving a sense of understanding (Laverty, 2003). Methods Sampling The population was adequately described. The researchers informed readers that the population being studied was pregnant and non-pregnant women who attended specialist diabetes clinics in 2 areas in the North West of England. Since the central phenomenon is pregestational diabetes, it is an appropriate setting. The participants were identified from clinic lists. For the pregnant women, information sheets were given during clinic visits and they were given the opportunity to discuss the study. For the non-pregnant women, information sheets were posted and they were given time to consider their participation after which they were contacted to make arrangements for interviews. This informs the readers that the participation in the study was not forced onto the women. They were offered a choice of individual or focus group interviews. A written consent was obtained prior to the interviews. It was also mentioned that the study gained approval from the local research ethics committee. In keeping with the tradition of qualitative research, the researchers used purposive sampling and this was mentioned in the report. This is because they need participants who fulfill a certain criteria. This criterion involves a shared experience and provides the most information about the topic of interest (Houser, 2008, p. 481). In this case, the participants have to be White British and South East Asian women who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The researchers also mentioned that a Black African woman was included in the study by accident. A total of 22 women were recruited. It is not known if saturation was achieved. To explore the diversity of individual experiences, the researchers recruited women from 2 study areas and the women were of different parity, ethnicity and diabetes type (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 323). Data Collection To collect data, semi-structured interviews in the form of individual interviews and focus group interviews were used as it allows the researchers to â€Å"explore the broad areas of interest and encourage respondent-led nquiry† (Lavender et al, 2010). This is a congruous and primarily used form of data collection in qualitative studies (Holloway Wheeler, 2002, p. 80). The individual interviews took place in either the hospital or participants homes. It was not mentioned how many were done in the hospital and how many were done at home. Interviews done at participants’ homes would yi eld better information as they are in a comfortable environment and privacy is ensured. It is also not known how long the interviews lasted. The readers have no way of knowing if the participants had time to put thought into their answers and if the information was useful. There are also 2 focus group sessions which was conducted in the hospital. This is appropriate to the study as it produces thoughts and opinions about a topic relevant to the participants experiences and this is what the researchers are looking for (Holloway Wheeler, 2002, p. 111). All interviews were audio recorded. This reduces the potential of losing any data. There was no mention of who conducted the interviews for the White British women and if the interviewers were trained. It was not said if the researchers conducted the interviews themselves and how many interviewers were there in total. The researchers only mentioned that the South East Asian lay researchers were trained. Readers would assume that only the South East Asian women were interviewed by trained lay researchers and the White British women to be interviewed by the main researchers. This may cause inconsistencies in how the interviews were being approached. However, the South East Asian women probably could identify with the lay researcher and thus are more comfortable in providing information. Data Analysis The data was then transcribed verbatim. This ensures richness of data (Holloway Wheeler, 2010, p. 282). Interviews conducted in Punjabi and Urdu were translated and transcribed by a trained lay researcher and validated by an independent translator who translated the data back to the original language. This ensures that the transcriptions are accurate and validly reflect the totality of the interview experience (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 465). However, the independent translator must be advised on confidentiality relating to the data but this was not mentioned y the researchers (Holloway Wheeler, 2010, p. 282). The data was managed manually and no software was used to aid in organizing the data. The researchers used an interpretive approach guided by the principles of Heidegger and Gadamer. This is compatible with the research tradition being Hermenuetic Phenomenology. There was immersion in data but the readers were not informed how the data was coded and categorized. How ever the researchers came out with 3 main themes so the readers can conclude that the researchers used thematic analysis, which is befitting of a qualitative study. Trustworthiness Trustworthiness was demonstrated through peer debriefings, data triangulation and researcher credibility. Triangulation in data collection was achieved through space triangulation and person triangulation (Polit Beck, 2010, p. 497). Space triangulation was achieved by collecting data from multiple sites, which gives the researchers an opportunity to check for consistency of information. Person triangulation was achieved by collecting data from women of different parity, ethnicity and diabetes type, giving the researchers data from different perspectives. The researchers are professionals in the field of Midwifery and Maternal Health with 2 of them having published papers which were used in the literature review. This shows researcher credibility. Because they are all from the same field of study, they had five diabetes specialists participate in the study to reduce potential bias. Findings Findings such as â€Å"other significant health problems† and â€Å"use of insulin† were presented but the researchers did not demonstrate if these findings are related to the purpose of the study. Table 1 provides the reader with a breakdown of the participants demographic characteristics to give a better picture of the population under study and allow them to determine if the findings can apply to another context. Three major themes emerged from the data. Of the three themes, only the first theme had sub-themes which progressed logically. The themes connected with each other to form an integrated whole and were effectively summarized with excerpts from the interviews included in the report. This gives readers a chance to see the raw data and how it links to the themes. Pseudonyms were used to ensure confidentiality. The findings illustrate the obvious variations of perceptions between the White British and South East Asian women. The researchers recognized that the sample size was limited as the study aimed to explore perceptions related to a number of variables. They also pointed out that although overall themes were consistent between different ethnic groups, some differences were seen due to cultural beliefs and this would require further research. However, they acknowledge that the study has given a useful insight into issues related to pregestational diabetes. Discussion, Application, Implication and Recommendations Majority of the findings were related to women’s experiences of healthcare services in diabetes and maternal health clinics and their perception of the care provided. This was discussed within the context of previous studies in this area. Five references were used in the discussion and two were primary sources. Similarities in findings were highlighted between this study and Berg and Hoklanso’s (2000) study. The researchers also used Verheijen’s et al (2005) study to explain the significance of ethnicity in the outcome of pregnancies in women with pregestational diabetes. As pointed out by the researchers, although this study produced an abundance of useful data on women’s experiences, there were some limitations as this is the first study to explore diabetes and pregnancy within various populations. Issues of transferability was addressed (ethnicity and cultural beliefs) and they suggested further study in those areas. Implications for clinical practice were discussed. Information from the findings is useful to healthcare providers who work in the affected areas. Healthcare providers are made to question their approaches (routine and medicalised) in supporting the needs of diabetic women with regards to their reproductive health through the women’s perspectives. Healthcare providers are encouraged to be more sensitive to these women’s needs so that they can enjoy their pregnancy and not be too focused on diabetes management. The researchers propose for strategies to ensure focus of pregnancy and to incorporate social model of care alongside medical model. They encouraged healthcare providers to re-evaluate their roles. They also propose preconception care to be made accessible and for health providers to recognize socio-cultural differences and engage with significant family members. Conclusion Overall, the paper was well presented and flowed logically. It lacked details such as data saturation. The findings were well described. It has provided great insight into the experiences of women with diabetes and their views on pregnancy. This paper could provide a good foundation for others who want to study the same field. References Brockopp, D. Y. Tolsma, M. T. (2003). Fundamentals of nursing research (3rd ed. ). New York: Jones Bartlett. 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