Problems with Drinking and driving Essay

Driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, drunken driving, drunk driving, operating under the influence, drinking and driving, or impaired driving is the crime of driving a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or other drugs including those prescribed by physicians. In the case of alcohol, a drunk driver’s level of intoxication is typically determined by a measurement of blood alcohol content or BAC. A BAC measurement in excess of a specific threshold level, such as 0.05% or 0.08%, defines the criminal offense with no need to prove impairment. In some jurisdictions, there is an aggravated category of the offense at a higher BAC level, such as 0.12%. In most countries, anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs can be heavily fined in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence. In the United States, DUI and alcohol-related crashes produce an estimated $45 billion in damages every year. In some U.S. and German studies BAC level 0.01-0.03% predicted a lower crash risk than BAC 0%, Blood alcohol content With the advent of a scientific test for blood alcohol content, enforcement regimes moved to pinning culpability for the offense to strict liability based on driving while having more than a prescribed amount of blood alcohol, although this does not preclude the simultaneous existence of the older subjective tests. BAC is most conveniently measured as a simple percent of alcohol in the blood by weight. Research shows an exponential increase of the relative risk for a crash with a linear increase of BAC as shown in the illustration. BAC does not depend on any units of measurement. In Europe it is usually expressed as milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. However, 100 milliliters of blood weighs essentially the same as 100 milliliters of water, which weighs precisely 100 grams. Thus, for all practical purposes, this is the same as the simple dimensionless BAC measured as a percent. The per mille measurement, which is equal to ten times the percentage value, is used in Den mark, Germany, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The validity of the testing equipment/methods and mathematical relationships for the measurement of breath and blood alcohol have been criticized. Driving while consuming alcohol may be illegal within a jurisdiction. In some it is illegal for an open container of an alcoholic beverage to be in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle or  in some specific area of that compartment. There have been cases of drivers being convicted of a DUI when they were not observed driving after being proven in court they had been driving while under the influence. In the case of an accident, insurance may be automatically declared invalid, i.e. the drunk driver is fully responsible for damages. Within the American system, citation for driving under the influence also causes a major spike in car insurance premiums—94.1% in the first year, and still 63.5% higher by the third year. The German model serves to reduce the number of accidents by identifying unfit drivers and removing them from until their fitness to drive has been established again. The Medical Psychological Assessment works for a prognosis of the fitness for drive in future, has an interdisciplinary basic approach and offers the chance of individual rehabilitation to the offender. George Smith, a London Taxi cab driver, ended up being the first person to be convicted of driving while intoxicated, on September 10, 1897. He was fined 25 shillings, which is . BAC and risks Studies show that a high BAC increases the risk of accidents whereas it is not clear of a BAC of 0.01%-0.05% slightly increases or decreases the risk. One study suggests that already a BAC of 0.04-0.05% would slightly increase the risk whereas some studies suggest that a BAC of 0.01-0.04% would slightly lower the risk, possibly due to the drivers being more cautious. Both the influential study by Borkenstein et al. and the empirical German data on the 1990s demonstrated that the risk of accident is lower or the same for drivers with a BAC of 0.04% or less than for drivers with a BAC of 0%. For a BAC of 0.15% the risk is 25-fold. The 0.08% BAC limit in Germany and the limits in many other countries were set based on the study by Borkenstein et al. Wuerzburg University researchers showed that all extra accidents caused by alcohol were due to at least 0.06% BAC, 96% of them due to BAC above 0.08%, and 79% due to BAC above 0,12%. In their study based on the 1990s German data, the effect of alcohol was higher for almost all BAC levels than in Borkenstein et al. Also in the Grand Rapids study by Alsop, 0.01-0.03% BAC lead to a mere 80%-96% crash risk, possibly due to extra caution. Many employers or occupations have their own rules and BAC limits; for example, the United States Federal Railroad Administration has a 0.04%  limit for train crew. Certain large corporations have their own rules; for example, Union Pacific Railroad has their own BAC limit of 0.02% that, if violated during a random test or a for-cause test—for example, after a traffic accident—can result in termination of employment with no chance of future re-hire. Some jurisdictions have multiple levels of BAC for different categories of drivers; for example, the state of California has a general 0.08% BAC limit, a lower limit of 0.04% for commercial operators, and a limit of 0.01% for drivers who are under 21 or on probation for pr evious DUI offenses. Many states in the U.S. and the Federal government of Canada have adopted truth in sentencing laws that enforce strict guidelines on sentencing, differing from previous practice where prison time was reduced or suspended after sentencing had been issued. Some jurisdictions have judicial guidelines requiring a mandatory minimum sentence. DUI convictions can result in multi-year jail terms and other penalties ranging from expensive fees to forfeiture of one’s license plates and vehicle. Some jurisdictions require that drivers convicted of DUI offenses use special license plates that are easily distinguishable from regular plates. These plates are known in popular parlance as â€Å"party plates† or â€Å"whiskey plates†. The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving under the influence, driving under the influence of intoxicants, driving while intoxicated, â€Å"operating vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other drugsâ⠂¬ , operating under the influence operating while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge . Many such laws apply also to motorcycling, boating, piloting aircraft, use of motile farm equipment such as tractors and combines, riding horses or driving a horse-drawn vehicle, or bicycling, possibly with different BAC level than driving. In some jurisdictions there are separate charges depending on the vehicle used, such as BWI, which may carry a lighter sentence. In the United States, local law enforcement agencies made 1,467,300 arrests nationwide for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1996, compared to 1.9 million such arrests during the peak year in 1983. In 1997 an estimated 513,200 DWI offenders were in prison or jail, down from 593,000 in 1990 and up from 270,100 in 1986. Drunk in charge  In British law it is a criminal offence to be drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. The definition depends on such things being in or near the vehicle, and having access to a means of starting the vehicle’s engine and driving it away. Health care, working, and prescription drugs If a worker who drives has a health condition which can be treated with opioids, then that person’s doctor should be told that driving is a part of the worker’s duties and the employer should be told that the worker could be treated with opioids. Workers should not use impairing substances while driving or operating heavy machinery like forklift trucks or cranes. If the worker is to drive, then the health care provider should not give them opioids. If the worker is to take opioids, then their employer should assign them work which is appropriate for their impaired state and not encourage them to use safety sensitive equipment.

Contextualising the text – Yerma

Throughout his adult life, Garcia Lorca spoke frequently and with great pleasure about the profound importance he attributed to his early childhood in the small villages in the countryside near Granada, and later, in the provincial capital itself. Lorca's father, Federico Garcia Rodriguez was a wealthy landowner with several substantial holdings in the rich alluvial plain called La Vega de Granada. Having been widowed in his first marriage and left without children, Don Federico's second marriage (of which his family disapproved because of the inferior social and economic background of his bride) was to a school teacher from Granada, Vincenta Lorca Romero. The mere fact that she had a profession and a job is an indication of her independence and strength of character. The influence of her personality was to be of the utmost importance for Federico Garcia Lorca, her eldest son, born in June of 1898. The experience of the first ten years in that fertile region of slow rivers and poplar groves, with the snow-capped Sierra Nevada in the distance, seems to have provided Lorca with an inexhaustible well-spring of inspiration and feeling for Spain's rural people and their world. The rural folk he was surrounded by became a great influence in his work as we are shown in his second rural play Yerma. Act 2, scene 1 shows us a parallel to what Lorca would have witnessed often during his childhood. In his late teens he began to write poems that he would recite in local cafes. As a child he was known to carry on conversations with inanimate objects, bestowing upon each object a personality and speaking with them as if they were living things and might speak back at any moment. His writing career began with a book of essays in 1918, followed by a play in 1920 and book of poetry in 1921. In 1919 he left to study law at the Residencia de Estudiantes, where he met and became friends with film director Luis Bunuel and painter Salvador Dali, among other Spanish notables of his generation. With the exception of summer vacations spent in Granada, Garcia Lorca would stay in the Residencia until 1928, by which time he had become Spain's most highly respected younger poet. In the period of his greatest fame, Lorca drifted into a depressive, disillusioned state of mind. He described himself to a friend as suffering â€Å"one of the saddest and most unpleasant moments of my life. † He abandoned the gypsy ballad poetry that was making him famous. He even stopped reading his poetry to friends. He was rescued from this melancholy mood by his mentor, Fernando de los Rios, who took him from Madrid through France and England to New York City. In his plays, the pivotal characters are women. Women are the ones who suffer from desire and pass through conflict to tragic or comic resolution. Most of the scenes take place in women's spaces, the domestic interiors which they rule and from which men are estranged (or, as in The House of Bernarda Alba, completely prohibited). The female characters reveal themselves most easily and deeply in conversations with other women. The poetry which erupts at moments of emotional intensity usually comes from the mouths of female characters. Especially in the three great tragedies which are known as his â€Å"trilogy of rural life,† Lorca chooses women to exemplify the human life which is crushed by Spanish customs and social life. He went to Cuba in 1929-30 and returned to Spain in 1931. That year Spain became a Republic, which gave hope to many – Garcia Lorca included – that Spain's standard of living would be improved, its illiteracy reduced and its culture more widely disseminated. He became a director of a student theatre company, â€Å"La Barraca,† which toured small villages and in the faces of harassment by Fascist partisans presented the Spanish classics to the peasants. The company produced the three â€Å"rural tragedies† on which Garcia Lorca's theatrical reputation rests. Yerma (1934), the second of the three tragedies, is the story of a woman who is unable to conceive although she desperately longs to have a child. The first and third tragedies are Blood Wedding (1933) and The House Bernada Alba, which was never performed during Garcia Lorca's lifetime. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, he went to Granada, which he regarded as relatively safe. Although he had no political affiliations, he was known to be a friend of left-wing intellectuals and an advocate of liberty. Apparently this was enough of an indictment for the Falangists who arrested him on the orders of the Nationalist Civil Governor on August 16, 1936. He was held for two days, tortured and shot. Garcia Lorca was homosexual, and he suffered greatly because of the strict, conservative nature of Spain at that time. His writings were outlawed in Granada's Plaza del Carmen. Even speaking his name was forbidden. The young poet quickly became a martyr, an international symbol of the politically oppressed, but his plays were not revived until the 1940s, and certain bans on his work remained in place until as late as 1971. Today, Garcia Lorca is considered the greatest Spanish poet and dramatist of the 20th Century.

Understanding Abuse

Recent periods of social progress and development have seen many concepts and constructs receive widespread attention to what can be described as negative behaviours and one concept and area in particular to receive this attention is abuse. Any response to find a solution to a problem whilst remaining effective and appropriate can experience various complications as there can be an inability to provide a clear and detailed definition of what it actually constitutes, provision of evidence that remains compelling and substantial and taking on board the cultural, social and political considerations and factors that are relevant to the society pertinent to the discussion will receive complications. This lack of clearness in its debate has led to the development of additional descriptions alongside abuse such as psychological maltreatment (Garbino, Guttman&Seeley, 1986), further confusing the issue and its resolution but in spite of this confusion their has been much learned from what attempts have been made in the exploration and analysis of abuse and this discussion will try to identify different types of abuse,expain why particular groups or individuals may be vulnerable ,its differing contexts,risk factors associated and ensure the impact of cultural and social factors on the range of abuse is analysed thoroughly. Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar† (Samuel Griswold Goodrich) Abuse is a term that relates itself to any deliberate calculated damaging or deteremental behaviour purposefully used to damage or harm an individual or group and can occur when a person misuses ormistreats another group or individual without any interest in their worth,dignity or well-being. It can be seen as a behaviour where the abuser is interested in the exertion of power and control over the individual and be prepared to manipulate or exploit the individual involved into submission or obedience to their will. In recent decades it has been described in various forms but the main categories to contemplate are Physical,Emotional,Sexual and neglectful and a recently highlighted phenomena of Institutional abuse,that has led to greater awareness and debate. Physical abuse was the earliest form of abuse thought to have come under public consideration in the 1960’s and was believed to be linked to child abuse until child sexual cases started to come to prominence with the Cleveland cases in 1987(Corby,B,Child abuse,1993,p86) and has been defined as â€Å"hitting,shaking,throwing,poisoning,burning or scalding,drowning,suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of or deliberately causes the ill-health to a child they are looking after. This situation is commonly described using terms such as fictitious illness by proxy or â€Å"Munchausen Syndrome by proxy†(Dept of Health,1995:5). This definition can be seen to as quite specific but does not provide any suggestions as to when such actions are deemed grave to authorise intervention and prevention of such behaviours and although it has various forms it can be the most visible, having damaging and long lasting effects. Emotional abuse and neglect has been defined according to the Dept of Health as â€Å"the persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development†(Dept of Health,1999:5-6) and relates itself to malicious †parental behaviour that damages a child’s self-esteem,degrades a sense of achievement,diminishes a sense of belonging and stands in the way of healthy,vigorous and happy development. Emotional abuse has been described as an overtly rejecting behaviour of carers on the one hand or as passive neglect on the other†(Iwaniec,D,Child care in Practice,1994). As a separate form of abuse it was only recognised by legislation in the United Kingdom in the 1980’s although it did receive recognition in the United States since 1977. Attempts have been made to define emotional abuse and neglect in a general way and five damaging behaviours have been levelled by Garbino,Guttman and Seeley(1986) as rejecting,isolating,terrorising,ignoring and corrupting with these actions being a concerted attack by an adult on a child’s development of self and social competence only being described as overtly abusive,painful and developmentally and cognitively damaging. Such behaviour can be seen as an act of commission or omission occuring â€Å"when meaningful adults are unable to provide necessary nuturance,stimulation,encouragement and protection to the child at various stages of development which inhibits his optimal functioning†(Whiting,1976). Sexual abuse in relation to children has been described as â€Å"involving,forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activites whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activites may involve physical contact,including penetrative(e. g rape or buggery) and non-penetrative acts. They may also include non-contact activites such as involving children in looking at or in the production of pornographic material,or watching sexual activites or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways†(Dept of Health,1996,6). This description of sexual abuse specifies that sexual abuse may not necessarily involve physical contact although there can be many other areas to be included when involving a definition such as what is the relation of the perpetrator of such acts and the definition put forward by Glasser and Frosh seems to be more comprehensive â€Å"Any child below the age of consent may be deemed to have been sexually abused when a sexually mature person has by design or by neglect of their usual societal or specific responsibilities in relation to the child,engaged or permitted the engagement of that child in any activity of a sexual nature which is intended to lead to the sexual gratification of the sexually mature person†(Glasser and Frosh,1988,5). This definition pertains to whether or not it involves genital or physical contact and whether or not there is a discernable harmful outcome in the short term. Child sexual abuse is a highly difficult problem and is far more commonplace than previously thought and also affects older as well as younger children(MacFarlane&Waterman,1986) although their is a greater degree of seriousness among practitioners about the urgency of intervention to protect children from such abuse. Another form of abuse that has received prominence in recent years is Institutional abuse that mainly involved children living in residential care including being under the care of a local authority with one case that rose to prominence being the Pindown Inquiry in 1991 concerning the use of a system referred to as Pindown in children’s homes in Staffordshire England. The Inquiry outlined how methods of controlling children involved techniques that could be construed as sensory deprivation and solitary confinement, were used over a large period of time under the approval of the management of Staffordshire Social Services being only described as brutal in there approach. In the following years a glut of cases came to the fore and the Department of Health responded by instigating a general inquiry in the state of residential care that came to be known as the Utting report 1991,that provided a view on the conflicting sides in care homes good and bad and making a note of the need for greater vigilance and the development of greater measures to protect the safety of children in such places of care. In situations where abuse occurs different groups and individuals can be more vulnerable to abuse than others and the need for greater research into these cases will only help to develop a better understanding of abuse and its forms.. One grouping where abuse has gained significance and shown how a group can be more vulnerable is amongst elderly individuals in domiciliary and residential settings as â€Å"behind closed doors† can be more difficult to combat as contact between victims and services can be extremely limited. Elder abuse has probably been placed in the background in its significance to such abuse as child abuse but any form of abuse is not to be tolerated as each individual has a significant sense of worth and uniqueness in life though elder abuse is often an ignored and hidden problem in society as â€Å"The voice of older people is rarely heard by those who have responsibility for commissioning,regulating and inspecting services†(Fitzgerald,G,Action for Elder Abuse). In 2000 the Dept issued guidance(No Secrets) on the protection of vulnerable adults from abuse defining a vulnerable person as one â€Å"who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability,age or illness and who is or may be unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation†(No Secrets,paras2. 5-2. 6) and although this definition was not restricted to older people it has received criticism as it appeared to exclude those individuals who do not require community care but with no standard definition of Elder abuse in the United kingdom as the term has been imported from the United States one commonly used definition is â€Å"a single or repeated act of inappropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person†(House of Commons Health Commitee,Elder Abuse,Volume 1,2004,P5). Abuse exists when a lack of care from one person towards another is present in a relationship and the thought of predicting abuse or neglect is appealing because of its ability to be preventative and adults have a sense or obligation of care in may respects of life being held to be trustworthy in the application of that duty but the more responsible the relationship the higher the chance of abuse that can exist and parental care is one context that can be seen as the primary type of relationship where abuse can occur and what does or does not be held to be adequate care can be important when making decisions about the likelihood of abuse occurring. With the Childrens Act 1989 not giving any firm statement of intent on what can be deemed adequate care and broad ideas on what care should involve such as physical and emotional responses,health,protection and cognitive behavioural development, research and evidence can be crucial in reviewing contexts and the suggestion that particular c hildren can be determined for abuse with researchers interested in the dynamics of why particular children are susceptible. Predicting abuse by observing maternal responses to new born babies is an important feature of child protection with children who are seen as not wanted or the â€Å"wrong sex† by their parents at a greater risk(Roberts ,1980) but many parents often carry into life unresolved issues from their own childhood or present circumstances that have a substantial impact on their ability to form deep and lasting relationships with their children,†The undermining effect of a difficult child on parental functioning will be lessened when the parent has an abundance of personal psychological resources ,conversely an easy to rear child can compensate for limited personal resources on the part of the parent on maintaining parental effectiveness†(Belsky&Vondra,1989,188), therefore solid connections to parent or primary care giver is essential to the child’s development and growth. Parents who experience substance abuse,domestic violence or mental health issues can provide risk factors or damaging environments where children can be open to abuse and although not all parents with these experiences can be a risk to their children,their ability to provide adequate care can be limited and damaging. Substance misuse can result in a parents ability to erform basic parenting tasks(Kroll,2004) and be generative of chaotic environments and has come to focus in many families that are under child protection enquiries even during pregnancy and early development. Mental illness can also be seen as another factor relating to abuse ranging from a parents depression to psychotic or delusional violence that can result in fatal cases. The risks can be seen as greater if the parent shows hostility or aggression towards the child,ultimately becoming a target with many children taking on a caring role themselves as parenting can be in conflict and opposition. Another factor co-exis ting and overlapping with the factors previously discussed is domestic violence. Domestic violence is common and is seen usually in the context of the male exerting power over a female and a form of controlling behaviour with violence beginning even during pregnancy increasing in severity leading to a effect on emotional and psychosocial development. With a child being witness to such behaviour anxiety and stress can result in the childs having long term effect even when physical violence is not present. So although factors can emphasise a disposition to abuse the truth is never that clear and no single event or outcome can be determined and the likelihood is that factors such as those discussed are part of a complex context and set of circumstances beginning even long before the child is involved. Social factors can also have considerable effect on abuse and links have been made between male unemployment and the physical abuse of children(Gillham,1998) and the Department of Health has also conducted its own studies finding that 95 percent of children on protection registers are from poor families(Dept of Health,1995) with children from lower economic environments more likely to be abused(Lawson,2000),nevertheless it has been argued that child abuse cuts across all social class with lower classes more susceptible to come under government investigation because of their need for more government resources with this in mind â€Å"Child abuse is strongly related to class, inequality and poverty both in terms of prevelance and severity†¦ olving the problem requires a realignment of social policy which recognises the necessity of tackling the social,economic and cultural conditions associated with the abuse†(Parton,1985,175-176) â€Å"Abuse in the form of violence against women is a normal feature of patriarcial relations. It is a major vehicle that men use in controlling women,as such it is the norm not an aberration. The widespread incidence of child sexual abuse reveals the extent to which men are prepared to wield sexual violence as a major weapon in asserting their authority over women† (Dominelli,1986,p12) Abuse can be seen as a product of a particular culture and child rearing practices are different from time to place being influenced by religion,class,sexuality etc. Culturally approved practices â€Å"such as isolating infants and small children in rooms or beds of their own at night,making them wait for readily available food or allowing them to cry without immediate attending to their needs or desires would be at odds with the child rearing philosophies of most of the cultures discussed†(Korbin,1981,p4) need to be taken into consideration when defining are certain acts abusive but that does not mean that these ideas are not to be challenged. In the vast majority of abuse cases children or women can be seen to the victim and women have been subjected to horrendous acts and ordeals through out many cultures. The challenging of old ideas as an example can be seen in the context of the rape of women in Zimbabwe being traditionally remedied by the arrangement of the perpetrator to the victim in marriage. This act can be seen as seriously and psychologically wicked in its practice but it is an example of where outside support for change can b e directed. Other cultural practices such as circumsion and clitoridectomy should be seen as widely abusive acts (Finkelhor&Korbin,1988) and as all abuse is seen in the context of power over the victim rape is another practice especially in the context of war,with the idea of dehumanising the victims leaving a state of fear,anger and hate having long term effects individually and collectively. Being able to differentiate between culturally normative and abusive behaviour without the fear of being seen as racist or stereotypical in approach can result in the protection of abusive individuals and many cases have seen elements of the failure to protect, such examples have included Tyra Henry(Lambeth,1987),Ailee Labonte(Newham Area child protection committee,2002) and Victoria Climbie(Laming,2003),so culture can be a significant factor in how abuse operates and is defined. â€Å"No one ever became depraved with suddenness† (Juvenal,AD c-60-c130) To conclude, further study and research needs to be paid into abuse, its characteristics and manifestations and greater clarification needs to be sought in many areas and inquiry within the context of abuse, peer relationships and the way they are experienced and handled having implications in how individuals relate to others in life as â€Å"Contemporaries increasingly seek one another as the primary sources of support, security and intimacy†(Mueller&Silverman,1989,p583) so many factors need to be taken into account when in discussion but as stated earlier abuse is seen as the act of power over another individual or group so the last words belong to the great Carl Jung in that â€Å"Where love reigns ,there is no will to power and where power is all pervading,Love is absent. The one is but the shadow of the other† (Carl Gustav Jung ,1917,Gesammelte Werke,Vol. 7,Zurich,Rascheter-Verlag)

Consider Shakespeare’s presentation of Portia in “The Merchant of Venice”

â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† is believed to have been written in the 16th century and it is to a large extent reflective of England at the time, which was a patriarchal society. Portia’s character embodies the characteristics of an ideal woman at the time that arguably defers to her father and eventually her husband. However, as the play advances we see a different side of Portia.Shakespeare introduces her character in a very conventional way. He uses Bassanio as a device for introducing the character of Portia. The audience is treated to Bassanio’s perception of Portia. It is through him the audience forms an impression of Portia, with the aid of his effective use of imagery. Bassanio begins with: â€Å"In Belmont there is a lady richly left,And she’s fair, and – fairer than that word – Of wondrous virtues.†To get a clearer picture of who Portia is from Bassiano’s perspective, we consider his choice of words in his description . For example, â€Å"Richly left† – her wealth is the first quality the audience learns about before we hear of her beauty as well as her virtues. The adjective â€Å"fair† and the use of the comparative form â€Å"fairer† in the same line gives the impression that she is stunning. In addition to that, â€Å"wondrous† which qualifies her virtues portrays that she is of impeccable character. Bassanio’s speech foregrounds the idea that a woman’s wealth, fairness and virtues are the qualities men looked for in women at the time.Bassanio then finally formally introduces her to the audience: â€Å"Her name is Portia, nothing undervaluedTo Cato’s daughter, Brutus’ Portia. Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth†A modern day audience is able to instantly see clearly that women are assigned second-class status, because Bassanio describes her as though she is defined by her relationship with Cato (in this case her daug hter). His reference to her as Brutus’ Portia helps the audience get a feel of what she  is really like, as Shakespeare brings the characters of Brutus and Portia from Julius Caesar, which the audience is most likely familiar with.Portia in Julius Caesar starts out as a devoted wife but as the play progresses shows steadiness as well as masculinity and in fact her character echoes Queen Elizabeth who famously said â€Å"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king† – these are qualities Portia exemplifies in The Merchant of Venice as well. â€Å"Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth† informs the audience that everybody acknowledges that she is a catch and she is in fact many men’s dream wife, which lays emphasis on her fairness and virtues. In addition to this he says: â€Å"Renowned suitors, and her sunny locksHang on her temples like a golden fleece, Which makes her seat of Belmont Colchos ’ strand, And many Jasons come in quest of her†Here Bassanio uses classical mythology to qualify. In one of the oldest quest stories, Jason led a party of Greek heroes called the Argonatus through many hazards in order to bring back the Golden Fleece from the shores of Colchis on the Black Sea. His intriguing use of metaphors and simile highlights how there are many men after her.Finally, we meet Portia in the next scene, where her first line is: â€Å"By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is aweary of the great world† This echoes Antonio’s opening line of the play, which highlights the point that the world of Belmont – a feminine world- and the world of Venice – a masculine world- are going to be intrinsically linked throughout the play mainly through Portia and Antonio. Portia then informs the audience of the casket test – which is a test her dead father arranged for her husband to be chosen. â€Å"I may neither choose who I marry, n or refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father.†Portia reiterates Edwin Sandys’s Sermon Sixteen where he insists that children are to accept the advice of their parents in choosing a spouse and in fact concludes that children who marry without the consent of parents are not sanctioned by God. This causes her to carry on her father’s plan even though he is dead. Shakespeare therefore manages to present her as being a dutiful  daughter in addition to being fair and virtuous. In addition to this, Shakespeare portrays Portia as though she is a slave to the casket test because she has no control over whom she marries. This is a conventional portrayal of women and would have been accepted at his time as the thought process of people moved in this direction.We observe that as Nerissa names Portia’s suitors who appear to be coming from all over the world, Portia’s responses, for example: â€Å"I had rathe r be married to a death’s head with a bone in his mouth than to either of these. God defend me of these.† Gives the impression that amidst being virtuous and dutiful she is also selective dismissive and stereotypical. She echoes the anti-Semitism in Venice (Antonio against the Jew, Shylock) through her reaction upon learning of the arrival of the Prince of Morocco: â€Å"†¦If he have the condition of a saint, and the complexion of a devil, I had rather he should shrive me than wive me.† Without even meeting him she makes up her mind that she would rather have him for a confessor than a husband because of his skin colour, which she likens to the devil because devils were traditionally black. From this moment on, it is established to the audience that Antonio and Portia are going to be the link between Belmont and Venice.When Bassanio with his train arrives to take the casket test, we get a love scene, which is arguably the best since Romeo and Juliet. Portia who up until this point has been either warily polite or contemptuously dismissive, now displays a turmoil of emotion as she begs Bassanio to delay his choice: â€Å"I pray you tarry, pause a day or twoBefore you hazard, for in choosing wrong I lose your company; therefore forbear a while.†Shakespeare immediately portrays to the audience that Bassanio is Portia’s desired suitor. Portia changes the rhythm of her speech from prose when she was speaking to Morocco to a softer more poetic verse form. Some may assume that she wants to influence his decision while others may see it as her simply wanting to spend quality time with the man she appears to have fallen in love with before the tension of the casket test takes over. As the scene progresses the we catch a glimpse of a flirty side of Portia, when she says  to Bassanio: â€Å"Upon the rack Bassanio? Then confessWhat treason is mingled with your love.† Following this, Portia insists on â€Å"music† repe atedly in her speech which echoes, â€Å"if music be the food of love play on† from the Twelfth Night thus buttressing that she is trying to influence his decision. In the same breath she arguably poetically transforms Bassanio’s choice of the casket: â€Å"Go Hercules!†Hercules, who is a legendary hero, reinforces that she is currently a slave of the casket test and she is imploring him to liberate her from it. At this point, we begin to see Portia attempting to manipulate the situation in order for it to suit her. When Bassanio finally makes the right choice and wins the lottery of the casket test, Shakespeare uses the device of soliloquy: â€Å"I feel too much thy blessing: make it lessFor I fear I surfeit†To allow the audience feel her joy. She immediately submits all that she has to Bassanio by referring to him as â€Å"Lord Bassanio† which again shows that she is indeed dutiful and subservient. She continues to express her elation and in fact begins to refer to herself in third person: â€Å"Happy in this, she is not yet so oldBut she may learn; happier than this, She is not bred so dull but she can learn; Happiest of all is that her gentle spirit†The use of third person distances Portia from the situation and not owning her joy shows that she doesn’t believe how lucky she is and cannot believe the happiness is really hers, which makes the audience able to respond to her ecstasy even more. In addition, the comparative and superlative form of the adjective â€Å"happy† compels the audience to feel and in fact share her joy. Furthermore, she continues to surrender everything to him: â€Å"Commits itself to yours to be directedAs from her lord, her governor, her king. Myself and what is mine, to you and yours Is now converted. But now I was the lord Of this fair mansion, master of my servants, Queen o’er myself; and even now, but now, This house, these servants, and this same myself Are yours, my lord’s.†She now begins to refer to him as not just as her lord but now her king and governor and she hands over all her wealth and material possessions to him. She is now subservient to the patriarchal society. Although at the beginning, her vulnerability caused her to want to challenge the patriarchal society and now love makes her accept it.We then begin to see a Portia of resource and command. As she sends Bassanio quickly to help Antonio: â€Å"O love! Dispatch all business and be gone.†Amidst her resourcefulness, we see her desperation to make him happy. Following this, the first time the audience sees Portia in the masculine world of Venice, disguised as a man in the courtroom scene where she has come to rescue Antonio, after she has been liberated by the casket test. Portia is given the control from the moment of her discreet ceremonial entry into the scene and she manages to retain it till the end of the scene. She shapes the scene into a rhetorical sy mmetry that would have been evident to an Elizabethan audience. Portia unlike the other Christians refers to Shylock like a human being. She attempts to persuade him by insisting â€Å"mercy† is a divine percept of both their religions, when that doesn’t work – she tries to appeal to his financial instincts: â€Å"Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond†She makes it obvious that she is acknowledging the bond but in the same breath takes advantage of his known love for money and implores him to have mercy on Antonio and offers him double the money. Despite this, Shylock refuses again, which she manages to respond: â€Å"Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge,To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death†By asking for a doctor to be present she attempts to make Shylock, realise  the inhumane nature of his intentions. Portia is steadily offering Shylock every chance to be merciful. Portia, picking up a reverberation from the world of dall iance with her â€Å"Tarry a little†, steps back into the world of reckoning and authoritatively changes the whole direction of the trial. Overall, Shakespeare presents her as learned, eloquent and confident which is very different to the way she is portrayed – quiet, obedient and submissive prior to this scene. However, it can be argued that because she did it for Bassanio, she is showing her love, subservient and fully committing herself to him and in fact putting into practice the traditional wedding vows even before they’re married.In the fifth and final act, she still expands her freedom, as she grows in authority and dignity, fresh touches of humour enlightening her new traits of courteousness showing. Shakespeare presents her as a woman of perfect simplicity, in her tact especially how she keeps her guest Antonio out of the mock quarrel about the rings even though it is more or less his fault. Her final word of the act, which is â€Å"faithfully†, is reflective of her character throughout the play.To conclude, Shakespeare generally presents her in a positive light not only through her character but also through the ways other characters speak of her. For example when Jessica likens her to being â€Å"heaven on earth† as well as when Lorenzo likens her to a â€Å"god-like amity†. In addition, she is presented as a very interesting and calculating character.

Branding Strategies and Product Development

According to the study of the project planning, I found that branding of products related to any specific organization is getting innovated day by day in order to provide effective brand value to organization. The concerned case study is elaborating about the effective measures related to sensory branding of product. In contrast with this fact, I am evaluating the project of improving branding of products in this essay. There are various phases involved in this project. I am considering three main considerable areas in the project to be evaluated in this essay.   According to stages used in improving branding of Color Studio Professional I have found three considerable phases related to the project implementation that needs to be reviewed in order to make the project implementation successful. Development of Gantt chart, Work breakdown structure preparation and Estimation of budget for the project development are the three considerable areas according to my point of discussion.    I have found that in the contemporary time the organizations are using sensory branding or sensory stimuli in order to make their brands powerful. Various organizations used two dimensional branding schemes for making their products popular in the target market. I noticed that, application of five senses during finalizing the branding schemes for making the product popular is the better way to attract the customers with respect to developing trends. In the concerned project of Color Studio Professional (CSP), the organization develops their brand value with the help of innovative strategies within their target market. I realized that the thought behind launching the products of CSP was justified with the five senses: â€Å"A typical day in her life†. I need to elaborate that this implementation of new branding perspective needed various project management stages that helped CSP to master the five sense in their branding perspective. Preparation of WBS and Gantt chart for proje ct success was the most effective one. In addition to this, budget estimation is also one important aspect to be considered in this segment. The project management is one of the important aspects that need to be managed by the project manager. In contrast with this fact, I found the project planner of CSP very unprofessional in this particular project of improving branding of CSP. There are various aspects I noticed that the project planner needed to consider in the project development phase. Every project development concern should be based on a structured and systematic way of execution. In contrast with the segmentation of tasks and scheduling techniques I noticed various aspects are missed out in the segment of scheduling and segmenting the task. According to my specific study on the budget estimation of improving the branding of CSP I have found that the budget is correctly estimated based on the respective functionalities of the project members in this particular project of CSP. In spite of this aspect I would like to introduce one more aspect into this critical evaluation of budget estimation of CSP project. This important aspect is the project planner of CSP did not used any advanced project management tools for calculating the project budget, this is another negative aspect involved in the pproject development. In contrast with the project phases of improving branding of CSP I found the Work breakdown structure to be inefficient in parison with one effective WBS structure. The project planner of the CSP did not explain the involved stages within the project development. According to the critical evaluation done by me I have found various inefficiencies within the concerned improvisation of branding related to CSP. The organization mainly introduced various perspectives within their strategic planning in improving their branding. I found the strategic perspective related to application of five senses in improving the brand value of product. I feel this concept pletely justified with respect to the objectives of the project. In spite of this primary stage of the project is justified correctly with respect to my critical evaluation of project management. There are other three aspects that were not maintained by the project planner in this project. First of these is, preparation of Work breakdown structure. I found the project planner inefficient in managing the project stages effectively, the project planner considered the project requirements in the WBS preparation; he did not considered the phases of project development. Second aspect that needs evaluation is that the budget estimation for the project cost estimation is correct but this can be improvised with the help of advanced project management tools such as Microsoft Project. Third aspect is that the project planner neglected the effectiveness of scheduling of Gantt chart. There are two day of gap between the project development phases that may include several malfunctions within project development. In addition to this, the project manager should also consider one testing phase after implementation of the project. I have found these stages being inappropriate within the project development. I think the project planner and organizational heads should be more responsible for these issues within the project planning. In contrast with this phase, I think the careful attention towards the project planning and scheduling will be helpful in solving these kinds of issues. Besides this, every project should consider one testing phase for viewing the result’s appropriateness. Therefore, the addition to testing phase will be helpful to resolve these issues. The process of improving branding within the CSP for gaining more revenues and attracting more customers, I have fund the project plan inefficient in some phases. I have critically reviewed these phases in this essay in order to develop a proper structure of effective project management. In addition to this, I have provided effective measures to resolve these issues with respect to the demands of CSP. The critical evaluation is helpful in understanding the effective measures related to project management of Improvisation of branding of CSP with respect to current business trends. I have evaluated all of these aspects within this essay in order to highlight the critical review of project planning of CSP. Alexander, B. and Heyd, B., 2014. Sonic branding within fashion retail brands: restrictions, opportunities, effectiveness and success.  BS Publications, p.154. Amsteus, M., Liljegren, F., Markovic, S. and Mà ¥nsson, M., 2016. Chocolate or Succulent Chocolate: the impact of sensory descriptions on choice. Berg, P.O. and Sevà ³n, G., 2014. Food-branding places–A sensory perspective.  Place Branding and Public Diplomacy,  10(4), pp.289-304. Chakravarty, S.M., 2015. Sensory Branding: Branding with Senses. In  Cases on Branding Strategies and Product Development: Successes and Pitfalls  (pp. 327-365). IGI Global. Chatterjee, S., 2015. Olfactory branding: a new trend for defining brands through smell-a case of ITC Sonar Hotel in Kolkata, India.  International Journal of Trade and Global Markets,  8(3), pp.196-206. Kumar, P., 2014. Multisensory Marketing-Building Sustainability Perspective in Diverse Sectors.  International Journal of Marketing & Business munication,  3(2). Richards, G., 2015. Food experience as integrated destination marketing strategy.  World Food Tourism Summit in Estoril, Portugal,  10, p.2015.

Analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Essay

Analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - Essay Example The story exhibited the manner by which a soldier copes up with guilt. The author explored the concept of blame that soldiers in the battle field experience specifically when another soldier whom they are supporting and sharing their everyday experience would be wounded or killed. The chapter is about the day after the first death in a particular group of soldiers in Vietnam. The death of Kiowa came as a shock that taught the group about different lessons in life, specifically in such a dangerous situation. In the chapter â€Å"In the Field† O’Brien wrote: When a man died, there had to be blame. Jimmy Cross understood this. You could blame the war. You could blame the idiots who made the war. You could blame Kiowa for going to it. You could blame the rain. You could blame the river. You could blame the field, the mud, the climate. You could blame the enemy. You could blame the mortar rounds. You could blame people who were too lazy to read a newspaper, who were bored by the daily body counts, who switched channels at the mention of politics. You could blame the munitions makers or Karl Marx or a trick of fate or an old man in Omaha who forgot to vote (169-170). In the end of the chapter, one of the characters, Jim Cross, the leader of the group, contemplated on the concept of blame and the manner by which soldiers in war should overcome the guilt (O’Brien 170). It can be perceived that Jim Cross’ view is that blame can be considered as an unproductive feeling and concept since it cannot change or resolve anything. No matter who or what becomes the target of the blame it cannot change the fact that a negative event had already occurred. In the story blame had been carried by all the soldiers in the group regarding the death of one of them, Kiowa. Everyone has their own view regarding how the death should have been prevented if each one of them had acted differently. This is good in terms of the fact that everyone in the group had prov en their sense of responsibility, attachment and dedication to their brothers in the battlefield. There are two characters who specifically exhibited the greatest guilt. One is the soldier who had been the last person who had talked to Kiowa. He blames himself for turning on the light to show the picture of his girlfriend to Kiowa, which revealed the position of the group and triggered the bombing (169). Another is Cross himself who was thinking that his lack of dedication and heart in joining the forces has caused the life of Kiowa because of the fact that he had made a wrong decision of making the group camp out in low land without any form of cover. In addition, he ignored the warnings of people around him (161). The thought of putting the blame to every possible reasons came from Cross. He understood how guilt can affect the performance of soldiers in battle, thus, regardless of how much he wanted to blame himself, he thought of every possible factor he can think of to blame. It is futile and unproductive to put blame on any factor but it is the way of the emotional faculties of the body to cope with the lost of a comrade. Included in the factors that Cross blamed are the war and the people who made war, which can be considered as two of the most pointless factors he had thought about. War cannot be resolved nor eliminated because it can be considered as part of human nature. This is related to the second factor which is the people who ma

Finance report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Finance report - Assignment Example Ratio analysis is done to compare the performance of FHL with its major competitor, Harvey Norman. Profitability, Asset efficiency, Liquidity, Capital structure, and Market performance ratios are calculated for both the companies and performance of the two companies is analyzed in the light of these ratios. Some of the limitations of the analysis are identified, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are given on the basis of the analysis done on FHL. Financial statements include at least two accounting statements that are prepared by a company at the end of its accounting period. These two include Income statement and balance sheet and these statements of Fantastic Holdings LTD (FHL) are analyzed in this report. Financial statement analysis of a company is extremely important for a company so that it can reflect upon performance of the company and can add meaning to the figures of the financial statements. Financial statement analysis involves evaluating three characteristics: profitability, liquidity and solvency. A short term lender will be interested in the liquidity of the company which measures the efficiency of the companies to pay their obligations when they are due. A long term creditor would assess the profitability and solvency of the company which measures the long term standing of the company. Hence financial statement analysis is extremely important for the company as well as for the users of the financial statements. Comparisons can be made on the intra company basis, industry averages and inter company basis. Vertical analysis is done to make intra company comparisons and ratio analysis is done to make inter company comparisons. In this report, both comparisons are made. Intra company analysis is done using vertical and trend analysis and inter company analysis is done through ratio analysis of Fantastic Holdings Ltd and Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. Through the analysis, conclusions will be drawn regarding the performance of FHL from