Payless Service Blueprint

Payless Shoe Source is a discount footwear retailer with over 4,572 retail stores in 15 countries. This company does not only focus on providing different fashion possibilities for the family at a great price, but distinguishes themselves by offering an engaging, easy-to-shop experience and outstanding customer service. Our group chose this company to blueprint because it has a very elaborate customer service process.This company focuses heavily on providing the customer with a great shopping experience by following a series of â€Å"critical actions† that must be delivered to one hundred percent of the customers during their journey in the store. In addition, one of our group members works in this company and therefore, it would be easier to grasp an in depth understanding of the service process and be able to have easier access to all the information we needed.When shopping at the store, the customer goes through five different steps in their shopping experience. The company calls this process the â€Å"customer journey,† consisting of the following stages: Enter, Browse, Try-on, Check-out, and Walk-out. When the customer approaches the store, the customer is impacted by the store’s physical evidence for the first time. The first physical evidence the customer comes across is the store’s outer appearance. They may ask themselves does the store look in good condition and/or is it open.Once they get that established, they notice the parking lot to see if there are any available spaces to park and also if it’s clean. Once they park, the first thing they see on the store is big posters on the windows. The store always has advertisements on the windows to show customers what sales they have going on during that time. The sale posters alone can influence a customer to walk in the store and that alone can make a customer walk in the store with certain expectations, such as prices and brands. As the customer walks in the store, the Enter stage begins.The customer walks into a lobby area, which contains a little jewelry/sunglasses section slightly to the side and in front of them, there are displays of the latest or â€Å"hottest† shoes for customers to view at first. To the left or right wall of the store, there would be handbags/purses for the customer to see, many which match certain shoes. Payless Shoesource as the name says it, is mainly to shop for shoes, but all these extra items that the customers come across in their shopping experience influence a customer who initially went in for a pair of shoes to walk out with two or three extra items, or ccessories they might not even need or did not realize they needed. Once the lobby area has been viewed, the customers are offered assistance and are directed to their size. If they are shopping for children, an associate offers to measure the child’s feet and then directs them to the kid’s aisle. This is where the Browse stage begins. The ai sles are divided by men’s, women, and children. The aisles containing the shoes should be well-organized, put in correct order by size and department, and should be color-coded. This helps the customer and employees to find things easier.In this stage of the customer journey, an associate approaches the customer and initiates interaction. The salesperson asks the customer an open ended question such as, â€Å"What type of shoes are you looking for today† to better understand the customer’s needs. The associate then suggests the customer styles for them to try on and helps them find the right size. Furthermore, in this stage the associate also ensures that the customer understands the promotion that the store has in case they were not yet given that information at the Enter stage.If a certain style is not found in the aisles, the associate checks the inventory system (support process) with a handheld computer device called a scanner. With this device the associat e can check inventory, prices, and in what other payless locations the shoe is in stock. This device is very important physical evidence because it can influence a customer’s experience positively. This allows the employees to give a faster and more accurate service. After the customer begins trying on shoes, the associate goes back to check on the customer and delivers the critical actions for the try-on stage.This stage is very important because the company has determined that sixty-four percent of customers who try on shoes make a purchase. The associate begins by complementing their selection. This can change the sixty-six percent to eighty-eight after a customer receives follow-up. The associate then offers the customer a second style or a matching accessory to increase the units per transaction. Once the customer picks the products they want to buy, the associate offers to take the shoes to the registers which are at the front of the store, where the Check-out stage beg ins.In the beginning of the transaction a customer is asked for personal information such as name, address, and email address that is input in to the registration system in the support process. This data is stored and used for marketing purposes and comes up every time the customer shops in the store, allowing for a more personalized service. The cashier then proceeds by checking that the correct shoe mates are taken. This is done verbally to reassure that the customer is taking what they want and to avoid any returns.Underneath the registers, are shoelaces and shoe care merchandise for the customer to purchase at last minute. In the Check-out stage, these items are offered by the cashier because the company determined that one out of five attempts to sell additional items at the register is successful. The shoe care merchandiser influences the customers experience because they are strategically placed to create additional needs to consumers, making them purchase at the last minute. This helps the company, but it also satisfies the customer because they now have an item that can improve the life of their product.Finally, the customer is thanked and invited back. The last stage of the customer journey is the Walk-Out stage. This is whenever a customer is leaving the store without making a purchase. An associate stops the customer and asks then an open-ended question, such as â€Å"Did you find everything you were looking for. † Many times an associate prevents the customer from leaving and directs them back to the aisles for further help and may actually save a sale. If not, they give the customer a reason to come back by informing them of an upcoming promotion or the day new shipment arrives.Of course, even the best process has potential fail points where problems may occur and/or bottlenecks where backups or slow delivery may occur. There are three different types we can identify. The first bottleneck is the handling of uncooperative customers. All the critical actions that the service employees need to deliver during the customer journey require cooperation from both ends; the customer and the firm’s employees. Customer participation is crucial in effectively delivering all aspects of the service delivery the company wishes to give all of its customers.However, sometimes the company comes across â€Å"difficult† customers, or often called â€Å"get out of my face† customers that can slow the delivery process or even cause a fail point. There are times that customers do not want to be offered assistance and they will either keep walking, ignoring the salesperson, or they will respond with a quick phrase like, â€Å"I am just looking. † For instance, during the Browse stage, the employee is required to interact with the customer.If they are explaining the current promotion to the customer, but a customer refuses to respond to the employees help by not listening to them, then this part of the service del iver creates a fail point if the associate gives up or it makes the process slow down is the associate later attempts to explain the same information once again during a different stage, to avoid the customer arriving at the register not understanding the promotion. Another instance would be at the Enter stage, where the associate offers to measure children’s feet.It is the salesperson’s job to deliver this critical action, however how successful this is also depends on the customer’s participation. If a customer does not allow the associate to measure their child’s feet, then the whole purpose of this part of the service delivery fails because the associate will not be able to give the customer this service. The purpose of doing this is to allow the associates to interact with the children as well as the parents in order to create a pleasurable experience for the whole family.This is a service that many competitors don’t offer, so it is a competit ive advantage. The only solution to this bottleneck is for the front line managers to exercise continuous training with their employees. This will help them gain ease in talking to customer in general. It will provide the associates with practice that will help them learn to enhance customer participation and to effectively deliver good service. That way if a customer shuts down an associate, the associate will be trained to not give up and instead exercise the learned ways to gain a customer’s trust.Unenthusiastic employees are another fail point we identified. Employee’s unwillingness to participate in delivering the customer service can be a potential fail point in the service delivery process. Uncooperative employees can be the result of a variety of things. The first is that the company was involved in an ineffective hiring process. Another is that the company failed to exercise proper training. The employee must be trained to switch from tasks to customer service whenever a customer walks in.Fortunately, this fail point is somewhat controllable by the company. To avoid this, the company should hire the right people from the start. A solution is for the company to develop strategies to determine who is right for this position. Another alternative is to treat their employee’s right. The company must know when to reward their employees and must provide motivation that will drive them to try their best. A third fail point identified is out of stock merchandise. Not meeting the demands of the ustomers can be a big problem that can lead to many lost sales. The solution to this is to exercise more effective communication during the support process where the manufacturer sends the merchandise to the pool point and from there it is sent to the store, and it is received and input into the inventory system. Every time an associate uses the inventory to search for a shoe and prints out a receipt for the customer to go to another location is valu able information that should be used in benefit of the company.This is additional information that should be considered when making the inventory and should be effectively and accurately communicated within the support process to successfully meet the specific demands of customers. A service blueprint not only allows for a quantitative description of critical service elements, such as time, logical sequences of actions and processes, but also specifies both actions/events that happen in the time and place of the interaction and actions/events that are out of the â€Å"line of visibility† for the users, but are fundamental for the service.With the realization of the importance and the domination of services in the world’s economies, there is a growing emphasis in business practice on creating meaningful, memorable customer experiences. Payless Shoe Source has reinvented itself and repositioned its brand as a business that is as passionate about helping customers as they are about the products they sell. By using a detailed service blueprint, Payless can strengthen its Marketing, HR Management, and Operations areas and achieve a stronger bond with its customers.The company’s blueprint showcases key points where customers are more attracted to, spend more time at, and are more likely to focus on promotions, ads, and its products. This will especially be helpful to the stores’ â€Å"extensive media plan. † Measuring the stores traffic in customers, sales, and productivity, the company develops the plan which determines what amount of advertising impressions would be the most effective in T. V, radio, magazine, and newspapers. It was this plan that led them to be awarded the â€Å"2006 Marketer of the Year† by Footwear News among other recognitions. Another important aspect of the organization is its’ employees.Payless is proud of its associates and has a culture that encourages personal, informal feedback between al l employees and includes programs in its stores and corporate offices to recognize excellence by individuals and teams. Through the blueprint Payless can evaluate associates, their relationships with customers, and manage their Development, Recognition, and Compensation Programs. For example the quarterly and annual Pinnacle Awards program recognizes top store and district performers in their three regions. Payless is also an organization looking to innovate their service to customers.Its store operations are a critical, important area in its service process. A blueprint will be helpful to create performance standards for workload scenarios, improve alignment among key business functions, and implement new technologies where needed the most. An example of how payless optimized it’s workforce was the creation of KRONOS. Kronos is a an integrated, analytical workforce management system which pulls data from various sources such as the POS, traffic counters, supply chain systems , and associate preferences to create automated, optimized work schedules.Through this assignment we learned how significant a service blueprint can be to an organization for it to be successful among its customers. The blueprint allows firms to visualize the service process, points of customer contact, and the physical evidence associated with their services from their customers’ perspective. The uniqueness of this technique is its continuous focus on the customer as the center and foundation for innovation, service improvement, and experience design. That doesn’t mean that customers are the source of innovation, but rather that value to the customer is the central purpose of innovation.The service blueprint helps firms improve and innovate their service and create a â€Å"customer-focused† design for the firm, which in turn increases customer retention, creates a competitive advantage and mainly increases brand equity. Payless Shoesource is a perfect example o f how a blueprint can be successfully used to innovate, improve, and communicate the firms’ philosophy of great service to its customers.Works Cited Bharat Book Bureau. February 2009. 5 July 2010 http://g51studio. com/parsons/ServiceBlueprinting

International Marketing Research Challenges Essay

INTRODUCTION Due to global financial issues in the recent months, consumer confidence is low in the more developed markets such as Japan, the US and Europe (AFP, 2012). Therefore developing markets, such as the Australian market, are looking towards emerging markets where the markets have remained dynamic and rich in growth opportunities. This is because emerging markets â€Å"have reached a minimum level of GDP and are in the growth phase of the development cycle† (Pearson Education, 2012), however due to this growth phase these markets are still vulnerable to both internal and external forces. With many companies world-wide seeking global growth opportunities, it has never been more important for international marketing research to be conducted in order to fully understand the consumers of these markets (Greenland, 2011). This growth of emerging markets has presented a number of challenges for international marketing researchers including differences in research costs and also environmen tal differences such as differences in culture and even difficulties in communication and technology. CHALLENGE 1 – RESEARCH COST VARIATIONS Conducting research in a different country, especially one that is classified as an emerging market, can create many issues for international market researchers. For example, Greenland (2011) talked about how the expense of conducting research in emerging markets, such as Africa, is usually much higher than when compared to projects conducted in developed countries. Even though some of these issues may be catered for at the planning stage, many of these issues are unpredictable and can occur at any stage throughout the research project, creating a high chance of the project going over budget. Many factors including travel costs, currency fluctuation and availability of technology can affect the price of market research. However due to the fact that creative research approaches are needed in emerging markets, these higher prices may not be able to be overcome without a lot of research and understanding of the cultural and economic norms of the emerging market country (Craig and Dougla s 2005). As well as culture and economics being a factor in the high cost variations associated with research on emerging markets, the fact that infrastructure and technology is significantly limited also creating many issues to market researchers. This is because limited technology significantly limits the number of options the international market researchers have access to in order to conduct their research. No or limited technology means that most market research will need to be conducted face-to-face. Having to conduct research face-to-face in emerging markets can introduce extra expenses in the form of travel and extra staff when compared to virtual interactions such as online surveys. This is because in many of these emerging markets, for example Africa, â€Å"poor road networks, lack of direct flights, and the vast distances involved† (Greenland 2011) make it extremely difficult to reach these rural areas. As well as being time consuming, this is also a costly process with both transportation and accommodation needed to be taken into account. With these face-to-face interactions comes the problem of being able to communicate with participants who are likely to speak a different language. On suggestion to overcoming this problem is to train local people within the emerging market to conduct the research on behalf of the international market researchers. However, this approach is only a viable option if there are no time constraints due to the fact that it is likely to take a lot of time to train these new people and make them understand what the researcher is trying to find out. International market research can cost a lot more than when conducting research in a developed market, however businesses that are wanting to invest in emerging markets must plan for these extra costs if they want their new venture to succeed. CHALLENGE 2 – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES Every country has their own distinct cultural rules which can cause great confusion and problems when trying to conduct market research in a country that differs so greatly to your own country. For example, in Middle Eastern societies where women have very different roles to those women living in more western societies. This is why â€Å"the marketing research process should be modified so that it does not conflict with the cultural values† (Malhotra 2010) of the country in question. In countries such as the Middle East, women are more likely to experience lower education and literacy rates than their western society counterparts. For this reason and many others, face-to-face interviewing seems to be the most viable option for conducting marketing research in these countries (Greenland, 2011). However, even with face-to-face interviews this illiteracy can lead to the respondents not able to formulate their own opinions and all information gained could be biased or non-existent (Malhotra 2010). Furthermore, the cultural differences in these countries can extend further than just lower education rates, with many other factors affecting the way research must be conducted in these emerging countries to be effective. For example, many Arab cultures prohibit their women to have contact with non-family males, which can cause problems with allowing male researchers to conduct face-to-face interviews (Greenland 2011). A solution to this problem could be training female researchers to conduct the research when female interviewees are needed. However as well as this being possibly dangerous and deadly to the female, in many developing countries females are the bottom class and are seen to only do household duties, therefore a job would be against cultural beliefs. The extent of the products currently available in the emerging markets is another cultural issue that researchers must face when wanting to introduce a product. Malhotra (2010) suggests researchers need to look at the public’s attitude towards advertising, the government’s control of the media and the behaviour of consumers when conducting research. All of the previous factors change within different cultures which furthers heightens the need for specific research methods and ideas for different emerging markets. CHALLENGE 3 – COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES Communication challenges in emerging markets not only relate to language barriers but also differences in technology and cultures. Market researchers may find it very difficult to communicate the more complex ideas of their business to research participants in emerging markets where the language barrier is high. There has been a lot of research been into trying to find a way to overcome this problem. Greenland (2009), looked into using visual cues, such as photographs, to aid the research participants in obtaining a greater understanding of what the researcher was trying to convey. Craig and Douglas (2001), suggest the idea of videotaping people and analysing the behaviour observed to try and identify consumer buying habits. This however can pose many issues from whether it is legal or ethical to tape people without their knowledge and even whether cultural differences change what we would think a particular behaviour conveys. Greenland (2009), also talks about the language barrier when it comes to translating information from English to Swahili in the form of a questionnaire. The Swahili version of the questionnaire was notably longer than that of the English version which impacts the time taken to conduct the research. While Malhotra (2010) talks about translation from English to German and how the particular meaning of questions were altered when translated, which confused the final results. This is a problem that the researchers tried and failed to overcome at the time of the research being conducted. Also tying into communication issues is the challenge of conducting research without the technology that developed markets rely so heavily on. According to Malhotra (2010) the lives of everyday citizens, particularly those in rural areas, of countries such as India, South Korea and many Latin American countries, are yet to be impacted by advances in science and technology.† This, therefore, has an impact on how information is collected and stored and can also have an impact on the type of information a market researcher can collect. These non-existent advances in science and technology not only eliminate internet surveys or discussions but in many countries also eliminate the ability to conduct telephone interviews, with researchers unable to find complete telephone directories if the households have access to the telephone at all (Malhotra 2010). With the amount of challenges facing researchers regarding technology, it is often much more efficient to conduct face-to-face interviews. CONCLUSION â€Å"With the accelerating pace of market globalisation† (Craig and Douglas 2005), emerging markets are gradually becoming of greater interest to larger businesses all around the world. To efficiently sell products in these emerging markets a lot of research needs to be done to fully understand the consumers in these emerging markets in order to effectively market and sell their product. There are many factors that make emerging markets different to sell products in when compared to developed markets including, political differences and even variations in currency. This is why it is so important to understand how to efficiently conduct research in these countries prior to selling goods. However, there are many challenges that face researchers in these emerging markets, including the different costs of research, cultural differences and communication difficulties. These challenges can cause the research to take a lot longer and cost a lot more money than researchers would be used to. However, much research is being done to come up with solutions to combat these challenges which will hopefully make it increasingly easier for businesses to invest in emerging markets in the future. REFERENCES AFP 2012, Nestle sweet on emerging markets, The West Australian, viewed on 22nd June 2012, Craig, C. S. and Douglas, S. P 2005, Future Directions in International Marketing Research, Chapter 15 in International Marketing Research, 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, viewed 22nd June Craig, CS and Douglas, SP 2001, Conducting international marketing research in the twenty-first century, International Marketing Review, Vol. 18 Iss: 1, pp.80 – 90 Greenland, S. J 2011, Challenges of researching consumers in emerging markets. Marketing in the age of consumerism: Jekyll or Hyde?, Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Greenland, SJ 2009, Visual Research for Segmenting Emerging Markets, Proceedings of ‘Sustainable Management and Marketing’, Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference (ANZMAC), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 November – 02 December 2009, viewed 19th June 2012

Exam Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam Case Study - Assignment Example Later to follow are the recommendations to overcome the stated problems and improve company’s performance. Problems faced Primary problems faced by Sunshine Shirts come under the category of delivery delays and bottlenecks in quality. Delays are attributed to factors like large number of inspections, inventory and warehousing issues and lengthy production cycle of shirts. Also, type and volume of orders in the three categories also contribute to delays in deliveries. For quality concerns, even large number of inspections is not proving beneficial since printing is not getting appreciated by the customers. Faulty shirts are also getting in the orders which are resulting in increased number of complaints and reduced customer loyalty. Delays in deliveries and quality pitfalls cumulate to rising costs but no increased profit margins. Thus, an indirect offshoot of the above mentioned problems is an urgent need for cost-cutting campaign which can not be realized unless careful and m eticulous strategic planning is undertaken. Following next are specific instances which have led to the above mentioned problems of faulty planning, delays and quality concerns. Sources of problems Superficially, problems seem to be very generic, trivial and operations based. However, upon careful observation and deep analysis, the sources of these problems vary from strategic planning to inventory management, quality management and even setting up of performance measures. Detailed breakdown of sources of problems is given below: Strategic planning Strategic planning is a wide concept covering numerous operations within a specific business. From human resources to operations, production to management and even after sales, strategic planning entails setting up of standards, crafting plans according to those standards and measuring actual outputs to find out deviations. At Sunshine Shirts, planning has not taken a serious form. Various loopholes exist in different functions and domain s. Opening sentences where it is mentioned that the company budgeted for but still reported losses is a clear example of poor planning. Next for example, the problem of delivery delays can primarily be attributed to planning glitch. Before actual inventory management, it is the work of planning to ascertain the flow of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods. Faulty planning has led to faulty warehousing and chaos at factory space. Secondly, customer complaints have increased at Sunshine Shirts due to printing issues as ink on shirts peels off. This might be due to wrong supplier selection of printing inks which is again a function of strategic planning in a company. Further, regarding costs, company officials and heads of various departments are suggesting different solutions- reducing number of inspections, outsourcing, and charging premium price for better quality and even enter women shirts market. However, consensus cannot be achieved in finalizing a solution. This i s because the company does not know whether its competitive advantage lies in low cost or better quality. As such, direction of its strategic planning is not focused on one of these dimensions, leading to disadvantages and losses in both. To cut costs, managers are recommending outsourcing some of the activities to nations where production costs are lower. However, they do not see that expenses incurred on its three types of customer segments outweigh the returns yielded by these. Thus, even customer profitability analysis is not

Management and Leadership Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management and Leadership Paper - Essay Example Each of these aspects brings complexity to the leadership process. The findings presented in the paper provide discussion of leadership and management within Microsoft organization. Researched applied for the company reflects findings in the organizational culture of Microsoft, leaders' attempts to attempt to meet the retention and productivity challenges facing the company today as well as emphasize the role that organizational managers and leaders play in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture A primary activity of any type of leader within Microsoft involves motivating and reinforcing others to encourage superior performance (Chee et al., 2001). Following the theories of motivation, managers encourage employees to tie important outcomes to desired behaviors. Thus, whether managers endorse some variant of expectancy theory or reinforcement theory, the message is clear: to sustain motivation, leaders must demonstrate to employees a close link between performance and rewards. When speaking about leadership within Microsoft, it is needed to say that a highly authoritarian, control-oriented executive is likely to centralize the organization. The development of many rules and regulations and manuals also reinforces control, and so they are likely to be present. On the other hand, a participative leader delegates many of the decisions and may even be less likely to demand the development of uniform handbooks. Consequently, the style and personality of the leader are likely to be at least partly reflected in the structure of the organization. It is important to note the reverse relationship: The structure of a firm is one of the factors that influences the choice of leader. Microsoft organization is very informal and decentralized is likely to consciously or unconsciously recruit and select CEOs who have similar philosophies. The company has a leader whose style is known to mirror that of company's founder. The same firm is highly unlikely to select a hands-off manager unless a major crisis occurs, requiring a major shakeup (Microsoft Corporation Annual Report). Microsoft leaders are known for their attributes of high intelligence, their desire to dominate competitors, and their high technical competence. Microsoft business results revolve around moving to the Internet and maintaining software ubiquity. So the integration of Microsoft leadership attributes and business results might create a leadership brand statement such as: "Microsoft leaders embody high intelligence, a desire to win in every industry, as well as superior technical competence so that we can successfully transition to become a dominant Internet player while maintaining our presence in every software market." (Balthazard, Cooke 2004) Organizational culture of Microsoft can be referred to as a cultural web which is a useful tool when considering the cultural context for its business. Culture generally tends to consist of layers of values, beliefs and taken for-granted actions and ways of doing business within and outside the company. Therefore, the concept of cultural web is the representation of these actions taken for granted for understanding how they connect and influence the

Nature of Logic and Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nature of Logic and Perception - Essay Example Whether mental blocks interfere in critical thinking and its influence on nature of logic and perception is crucial in understanding human behavior. Thinking is most important in relation to life as we grow we start thinking more, and thus, we change our future ability to think. Ancient Greek, the Roman rhetoricians, medieval thinkers, the renaissance thinkers, the British empiricists, and even twentieth-century thinkers encourage us to think and ponder deep into the intricacies of open, unfolding, and marvelous arena of the mind. Following the words of Socrates, "Know thyself," Plato thought that we are born with ideas and with the pure power of the mind and innate ideas we could achieve divinity. "Descartes echoes Anselm-"I think, therefore I am"-and challenged our pride by telling us that "it is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well." (Kirby & Goodpaster, 1999, p. 2). As thinking cannot be useful unless it is communicated through the media of language, images, art, scientific formula, and mathematics, thinking is defined as "the activity of the brain that can potentially be communicated." (Kirby & G oodpaster, 1999, p 5). At the same time, there are unexpressed thinking that is stored in the brain and we use it often before speaking or acting. Writing and talking are the best media for expressing our thinking process as "our thoughts can resound and rebound with new shape and vigor from the thoughts of others" and "our ideas can intermingle, cross-fertilize, and become the seeds for whole new species of thoughts." (Kirby & Goodpaster, 1999). It implies that, we should use our mind and head rationally and constructively to become successful humans. Our thinking process is influenced by our upbringing, and it shapes our fears, our self-concept, and our emotions. At the same time our psychological world is shaped by our exposure to cultural and genetic forces, which often negatively influence and hinder our sound thinking process. Our self-concept, the way we view ourselves, also blocks critical and creative thinking. Self-concept includes not only intelligence and attractiveness, but our liking for home, friends, religion, state, country, values, possession, sports, and so on, which my influence our ego-defense mechanisms, self-serving biases, and individual identity. Ego-defenses, the psychological coping strategies, comprising denial, projection, and rationalization also impact on our thinking process. Critical thinking requires that when analyzing and assessing thinking we should take into account that human thought is rational and selective and it is impossible to understand any person, event, or phenomenon from different an gles simultaneously. The word "logic" covers a range of related concerns all bearing upon the question of rational justification and explanation and it is the study of correct reasoning and its foundations. Humans identify things using ideas, meanings, and thought -- some sense of what is relevant, what supports a belief, what should we assume, what we know, what is implied, what contradicts, and what should we believe, and vice-versa -- and this intellectual

Costa coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Costa coffee - Essay Example Costa coffee Since coffee retailers in the UK largely depend on coffee producing economies therefore, governments of coffee producing economies also influence the operations of coffee shops in UK. For example, Venezuela was the largest coffee exports however, because of government price controls; growers consider growing coffee as not an economically viable option (BBC, 2010). UK government with the support of members of coffee associations is struggling to support the producers of coffee such as through farm certifications, direct-buying initiatives and quality improvement which supports the farmers to improve their position and long term sustainability (British Coffee Association). Economic Population of UK has grown over 60 million people and in 2006, the total population was 60.6 million as compared to 55.9 million in 1971. Moreover, it has been estimated that people above 65 years old will be more in number as compared to individuals below 16 by 2021. Poverty reduction has become an importan t target for UK and government has been able to lift 2.4 million people out of poverty including 800,000 children and government aims to halve child poverty by 2010 and eliminate poverty by 2020. Economic problems faced by coffee producing economies influence the coffee companies in UK because most of the companies are acquiring coffee from these economies. For example, Uganda farmers are facing increasing level of pests and diseases and extremely harsh weather conditions (Butler, 2011). Around 70 percent of the world’s coffee is grown on area less than 10 hectares and most of the famers, out of 25 million in 50 developing economies that produce coffee, sell coffee in small quantities to local traders, manufacturers or exporters. The manufacturers of Coffee in UK are buying green beans from international trading houses or exporters. However, Government of UK is encouraging the companies to buy coffee direct from the famers to access best quality coffee in the long term (Briti sh Coffee Association). Social Consumers are asking for fair deals from suppliers at coffee shops and according to a Concerned Consumer Index Survey, 54 percent of the participants have showed that coffee shops should consider social issues ahead of environmental issues such as treating workers in plantation fairly (Gibbons, 2010). UK Fair trade market has grown from ?493 million in 2007 to ?712.6 million in 2008 and according to survey 72 percent of people are aware that they can buy coffee through fair trade certification. In the period of six months, 36 percent of the people have bought coffee through fair trade and the trend of buying coffee through fair trader is further boosting (Mortimer, 2010). More than 60 million cups of coffee are consumed on average in the UK in one day (British Coffee Association, 2011). The coffee culture is continuously increasing in UK however, because of the economic downturn; consumers in the UK were giving preference to drink coffee at homes rathe r than at coffee shops (Euromonitor, 2011). Consumers in UK are more focusing on taste and quality of coffee and the increasing consumption of coffee at homes is evident from increasing household penetration of coffee pod machines (Euromonitor, 2011). Technological Between 2002 and 2005, the UK internet sales to households have increased by

Full Quantitative Critique (Sucrose Decreases Infant Biohavioral Pain Essay

Full Quantitative Critique (Sucrose Decreases Infant Biohavioral Pain Response to Immunizations) - Essay Example Some of the research studies used in the literature review is not current; some are over 5 years old. They are appropriate researches which are very much related to the effect of sucrose on pain responses of infants. They are logically organized from studies on pain response in infants, immunizations, sucrose and then other relevant researches vital to the topic. They are also primary sources. The research design is randomized, prospective, and is a clinical trial. This method studied the research subjects in a much more specific and controlled set-up, and helped answer the research question accurately. Threats to validity are addressed through the randomized process of choosing subjects for the paper. There is enough data given in order to replicate this research. The gate-control theory of pain was used for this research. It fits this research because it helps explain the perception of pain in infants, the pain response, and the body’s reaction to pain. The subject selection for this research is random sampling, which is appropriate because it gives every member of the population a chance to be part of the research. The study also explains how subjects and the sample population were chosen for this research. The data gathering methods were well-explained in the research. The author described how each sample would be chosen. The process of data collection from each research subject was also described specifically in the research. Pain scales were used to measure the results. Measures of variance were repeated in order to verify results. The methods used are very much appropriate for this research because they produced measurable results. This research made use of the Statistical Analysis Systems in order to analyze behavioral response to pain. Descriptive analysis through measures of variance was used in order to compare the control and treatment groups. The methods chosen were able to answer the research question in

Personality Inventories Reliability, Validity, Correlation Essay

Personality Inventories Reliability, Validity, Correlation - Essay Example There is much that can be postulated concerning these two groups. The GESS questionnaire is an adaptation of Hale, Fiedler and Cochran's 25 item inventory (Hale, Fiedler & Cochran, 1992). This inventory is a measure of the optimism that an individual possesses concerning the likelihood of achieving goals in life. A person with a high GESS score has a great degree of optimism in their own ability to complete a task. While a person with a low GESS score is considered to be pessimistic about their own ability to reach a desired goal. Participants were selected randomly from the classroom. Of the 17 subjects participating in this study, 6 were male and 11 were female. Ages ranged from 19 to 30 years old. Two personality inventories were used in this study, the Internal Control Index and the Generalized Expectancy for Success Scale. Each test subject was seated in a relatively quiet and secluded environment and asked to fill-in the answers on the two separate inventories. The results of the first administration of the test questions are shown in Figure 1. GESS numbers and ICI numbers were calculated by hand scoring each questionnaire. GESS scores ranged from 86 to 149, out of a possible range of 30 to 150.

The little bee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The little bee - Essay Example Another way that language is a theme in Cleave’s book is that Sarah and Andrew are journalists who both use words in their occupations. When Andrew meets Little Bee and her sister, he realizes that his words do not really make a huge difference in the world. Little Bee eventually realizes that she has a renewed faith how powerful words can be because it can help a person to heal. Identity and language is crucial and the story is told from the narration of both Little Bee and Sarah. Sarah has everything she wants except happiness and Little Bee has nothing but a good sense of humor. They both have something in common. With their cross-cultural differences, they begin to understand a little more about each other and like each other. Little Bee is struggling to find out who she is. She left the British detention center not knowing how to live life other than the ways she had lived in Nigeria. Now in a new culture, she struggles to figure out who she is but with the help of Sarah, they are able to help each other. Little Bee does not think she has actually left her country but a part of it travelled with

English paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English paper - Essay Example It showed how only a few privileged people can control the entire financial resources in a country with a capitalist structure. The sharks and the lambs of the stock market have been given human shapes and the movie shows how they let their lives be controlled with the single passion of becoming richer by the hour, with greed being described as a virtue in the big bad world of a capitalist society. The movie also shows how inner conscience can assist a person from doing the right thing when confronted with moral decisions. The Wall Street is the location of the New York Stock exchange which is the world’s leading hub of business activity where stocks are bought and sold and is an enigma for the common man inciting fear and awe among the uninitiated. Common people fail to understand the intricacy of markets and the way big business operates. The movie entitled ‘Wall Street’ was therefore the best way to introduce the common man to the intricacies of the business wo rld. It shows how ambition and greed can make a person a mere pawn in the juggernaut known as the stock market. Personal life takes a toll when a person gets involved in the highly demanding and competitive environment leaving no room for human desires and pleasures. Every facet of human values acquires a financial angle.

Attachment Theory and Child Essay Example for Free

Attachment Theory and Child Essay An attachment is a two-way emotional bond in which people depend on each other for their sense of security. Although we forma attachments through out our lives, psychologists are particualry interested in the attachments formed between a child and his/her primary caregiver.1 This essay will examine the role of attachment in childhood and it’s subsequent formation of relationships. Most babies of mammals exhibit the same patterns as human infants; they seek proximity to the mother and react with anxeity on seperation from her, which is the essense pf attachment behaviour. John bowlby believed that attachment was an innate pattern and it helped infants to survive. Bowlby had observed how baby monkeys reacted with distress on sepearation from their mother for a brief period. The mother and baby both called for each other. This shows that attachment is essential for survival however, it can be argued that research relating to animals cannot be generalised to humans. Bowlby’s theory of attachment is that children have a biological need to attach to their main caregiver as attachment helps serve the purpose of survival. The emotional relationship provides the infant with a set of expectations about relationships which stays with the child throughout life; this is known as the internal working model, and is a pattern for relationships the child may have in the future. If the child experiences love and affection, he/she will come to see him/herself as worthy of love and attention. This is the child’s working model as Bowlby sees it. The working model will determine the child’s relationship with other people and the way the child sees him/herself in the future. On the other hand, if the child experiences neglect or rejectionthey may develop a working model that is based on denial rather than on reality. Such a working model may contribute negatively to the the mental health of the child and the quality of their relationships with others in the future. Mary Ainsworth was a US psychologist who operationalised Bowlby’s concept so that it could be tested empirically. She devised an experimental procedure called the stange situation, which resulted in the classificatin of attachment patterns. In the strange situation an observer shows the caregiver and child into a room and then leaves. The caregiver watches the child play and a stranger soon enters the room. The stranger sits silently at first then talks with the caregiver and then tries to interact with the child. The caregiver leaves the room. This is he first seperation between the caregiver and the child. While the caregiver is absent the stranger continues trying to interact with the child. The caregiver returns and is reunited withnthe child. The stranger then leaves the room and the caregiver follows leaving the child alone. This is the second seperation. The stranger enters the room and once again tries to interact with the child. The caregiver returns for a second reunion and the stranger leaves. The findings resulted in the classification of three attachment types discussed below. Attachment type A, avoidant, is when the child shows apparent indifference when the caregiver leaves the room, and avoids contact when the caregiver returns. The child is apparently not afraid of strangers. Mothers of type A children tend to be insensitive and do not seem interested in their child’s play. Attachment type B, securely attached, is when the child is upset when the caregiver leaves and is happy to see the caregiver return. The child is easily comforted by the caregiver. The mothers of type B children are very intersted in their child’s play and actively support and communicate with the child during play. Attachment type C, ambivalent is when the child is very upset when the caregiver leaves the room, however, the caregiver finds it difficult to sooth the child when they return. The child seeks comfort but at the same time rejects it. mothers of type C children are inconsistent in their reactions to their children. Ainsworth concluded that the primary caregiver’s behaviour determines the attachment type of the child. A sensitive primary caregiver leads to a securely attached child. Insecure attachment will lead to problems in later life. Jerome Kagan (1982) suggested that innate differences in children’s temperaments influence how the environment interacts with them. Another impact on attachment is the family circumstances that a child is part of. A childs socio-economic environment has a major impact on the attachment type the child has. If a family is hit by povery the child may not recieve the necessary support and this could lead to a change in the attachment type. A risk factor in the development of mental health seems to be a lack of formation of attachment to important people during childhood. According to Goldberg (2000), the method is a unique combination of experimental and clinical methods. He he finds it a well standardised procedure which allows for natural interactions. Lamb (1985) claims that this widely used methodology is highly artificial and extrememly limited in terms of the amount of information gathered, and that it fails to take into account the mother’s behaviour. Marrone (1998) finds that although the strange situation has been criticized for being stressful-and therefore unethical- it is modelled on normal everyday circumstances when the caregiver must leave the infant for brief periods of timein different circumstances. However, it can be argued that exposing children to stress in experimental situations can be very different to everyday life. Van ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) carried out a major review of 32 world wide studies, involving eight countries and over 2000 infants. They found that there are differences within cultures in the distribution of types A,B and C. For example, Japanese studies showed complete absence of type A, but a high proportion of type C. There sems to be a pattern of cross-cultural differences, so that type B is the most common cross-culturally. Type A is reletively more common in Western European countries, and type C is reletively more common in Japan. He differences has been associated with differences in child-rearing. The results of these studies indicated that if we want valid interpretations of the strange situaton in a cross-cultural setting, we need to have good knowlege about child rearing. The cross-cultural validity of the strange situation methods of assesing attachment and the meaning of the classification classifications themselves has been questioned. The meaning of the strange situation has been challenged, in that it focuses on o the measurement of the attachment in terms of the infants reaction to the seperation and the subsequent reunion with the caregiver. It does not take into account that the meaning of seperation may differ across cultures. Japanese children are rarely seperated from their primary caregivers and so the seperation may be a very unusual situation for the child. this may mean something completely different to Japanese mothers and children than to American infants and mothers. Bowlby’s internal working model assumes that although the model can be modified, it remains relative;y stable throughout the lifespan. Hazen and Shaver (1987) were one of the first researchers to explore Bowlby’s attachment theory in relation to adult romantic relationships. They found the attachment theory a valuable perspective on adult love because it could explain both positive and negative emotions. Hazen and Shaver translated Ainsworth’s three attachment styles to make them suitable for adult relationships. Then they devised a â€Å"love quiz† in a local newspaper and ask respondents to indicate which of the three patterns best described their feelings toward romantic relationships. A self selected sample of 620 people, aged 14-82 years, responded to the love quiz. The mean age was 36 years. There were 205 males and 415vfemales. A second study used a sample of 108 college students. The researchers found that 60% of the respondants showed a secure attachment style and 20% showed the anxious ambivalent pattern, and 20% showed the anxious avoident pattern. The research also asked the respondents to describe their parent’s parenting style. People who were seecurely attached had said their parents were responsive and attentive, people who were anxious-ambivalant had rejecting and inattentive parent. Hazen and Shaver theorised that romantic love shares important similarities with early attachment relationships. They also found that differences in adult attachment wre related to how people felt about themselves. Although the researchers found some correlation between parenting style and attachment paterns, they went against drawing too many conclusions as this would be deterministic. In fact, it seems that as people get older, they are more likely to to be able to develop their own outlook and approach to life. The study was ased on a self selected sample and can therefore not be representative. Self report data is not always reliable, and since the study was carried out in the western world it cannot be generalised to everybody across different cultures. It can be seen through the strange situation that majority of infants are likely to develop an attachment type B, although, it is largely dependant on factors such as temperment, socio-economic factors, and parent styles. In addition, it can also be seen that the attachment style developed as a child can have a large impact on the attachment style involved in the formation of subsequent parent relationships.

Assimilation the Risk of Losing Culture and Identity Essay Example for Free

Assimilation the Risk of Losing Culture and Identity Essay Blacks should not assimilate with the popular dominant culture but instead maintain their own sense of cultural heritage. The black person who makes the choice to integrate into the dominating culture really must be honest with his or her self and admit that all their pronouncements of concern for the welfare of the black community take a backseat to their personal desire to assimilate. These black people are more of a role model to other black people on how to assimilate or integrate into the colorless and racially generic whole of American culture that just so happens to be controlled and dominated from the white community. Although it may sound wonderful to hear someone say that they don’t notice people’s skin color, reality says that people notice color all the time. The pressure placed on blacks by the dominant culture forces them to move toward assimilation hooks urges. ell hooks states that â€Å"One of the most tragic manifestations of the pressure black people feel to assimilate is expressed in the internalization of racist perspectives† (227). Young blacks need to realize that conforming to the dominant culture is not necessary to exist within it. hooks says that â€Å"It is crucial that those among us who resist and rebel, who survive and succeed, speak openly and honestly about our lives and the nature of our personal struggles† (221). In order to resist assimilation black people as a hold need to be more open and honest about the struggles that take place striving for education and success, those who have blazed the trail need to reach back and help those striving to get there. An excellent job is done by hooks in getting the point across about assimilations effects, and also gives those who have chosen to assimilate something to think about, what cost is one willing to pay, is one willing to break family ties and friendship because of the pressure from the dominant culture to assimilate. The pressures of trying to maintain family and community ties and succeeding in life are difficult, these issues gives us some groundwork to fix some of the problems. While it is difficult to achieve education and success while keeping community ties it is possible, hooks says that â€Å"The most powerful resource anyone can have to study and teach in university settings is full understanding and appreciation of the richness, beauty, and primacy of our familial and community backgrounds† (228). ooks has some very valid points, everyone has to look at them and put them into perspective on how it can fit into their lives. There is not one right answer or solution to this problem, everyone has to search within to find a solution, but those whom have traveled on this road less taken have an obligation to teach those who follow. It is imperative to let the youth know that their struggles for identity and success or not in vein and show them that they are appreciated within the comm unity. Without the bounding and nourishment needed to continue the ties, youth will continue to choose to assimilate and take the easy road with less pressure and headaches to deal with. Blacks could better serve the community by assimilating to the dominant culture forces, the melting-pot theory. This view is advantageous to both a government and its people. It is believed that the nation has reached its present state of development because it has been able to forge one national identity. Separating citizens by ethnicity or race and providing special privileges to Blacks can be harmful, where assimilation tends to put everyone on an even playing field. By keeping ties to community and family Blacks draw attention to differences and the dominant culture fosters resentment towards their culture. Blacks in society that make a full effort to be incorporated into the mainstream naturally reciprocate the benefits and approval from mainstream America. Blacks become successful by shedding their cultural heritage and adopting the ways of the popular dominant culture. Typically Blacks absorbed by the ways of the host society, while loosening to varying degrees their connection to their native culture become highly successful. Through this process Blacks are accepted into society and become a part of the dominant culture and national unity is retained. Works Cited: Assimilation: Does it hurt Black people? (2007) Retrieved on 2/10/2008, from www. topix. com/forum/afam/TPIKF7CB1VN57ONEJ Bell Hooks (2000), Where We Stand: Class Matters, By Routledge

The Cradle Will Rock Review Theatre Essay

The Cradle Will Rock Review Theatre Essay The show The Cradle Will Rock written my Marc Blitzstein is a piece of work that reflects the struggles and politics of its time. In researching this show and it original production, one has to also know about the events in history surrounding and affecting the lives of every-day Americans. Then one must realize how these experiences influenced and inspired the creativity and brilliance behind Blitzsteins vision and the creation of The Cradle Will Rock. It is in specific events of the nineteen thirties that sparked, what was for its time, a controversial incident in the history of theatre had never before transpired. When the Depression began Herbert Hoover was the President and then in 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President. Roosevelt, seeing his country in a state of decline, lunched what is referred to as The New Deal, a series of economic programs to get American back on its feet. One of these programs was The Works Progress Administration or the WPA which aimed to find jobs for the unemployed. The WPA consisted of five Federal One projects and the Federal Theatre Project or FTP was one designed for employment of out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art. Other event s that lead to important plot points of Blitzsteins The Cradle Will Rock where the forming of unions and labor strikes. In Scott Millers An Analysis of The Cradle Will Rock he writes: The political atmosphere in America in 1937 was ripe for a show like The Cradle Will Rock. In 1936 not a single employee at U.S. Steel belonged to a union, but by February 1937, just five months before Cradles premiere, the steel workers had unionized and forced U.S. Steel to sign a collective bargaining agreement. In response to this new movement, anti-labor organizations were springing up all over America. With all this going on Blitzstein felt the need to express the frustrations of the union workers, but the creation of The Cradle Will Rock first began with a single song call Nickel under the foot. It was performed for Bertolt Brecht a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. It was Brechts idea to take the song further into a full length show. Brecht said, Why dont you write a piece about all kinds of prostitution the press, the church, the courts, the arts, the whole system? (John Jansson) While he did not get to work on it right away the idea never left his mind. It was not until the death of his wife that he dove headfirst into the writing of the musical. It took him all of five weeks to complete his work of art, that of which he dedicated to Brecht. Troubles for Blitzstein came when it was time for him to find a company that would accept his piece. Many companies though it to be too sensitive a subject with the recent troubles in America and its large political statement, all in all for many it seemed too risky. But that would not stop Blitzstein in finding a way to get his play to the people; he would not give up his quest to make his message heard. A message many Americans needed to hear. The plot of The Cradle Will Rock as explained on Musical Heaven is as follows: Moll, a streetwalker in Steeltown USA is arrested and finds herself in Night Court witnessing the arraignment of The Liberty Committee, a handful of distinguished citizens who are opposed to organizing activities by the Steelworkers Union. In an ironic twist of fate, they have been mistaken for union organizers and arrested. A drunken vagrant, once a prospering pharmacist, explains to Moll how this minister, newspaper editor, doctor, college president, professor and artist have all sold their principles for money and power. The wealth and authority of Mister Mister, a leading industrial boss, has corrupted the city, and the process is also revealed in the committee members furtive dialogues and strained efforts for release. Ultimately the chief union organizer, Larry Foreman, is brought into court. An uncompromising and charismatic man, he exemplifies how one person can make a difference and gives hope to the bitter prostitute and druggist. When Steeltowns boss, Mister Mister, arrives at the courthouse to rescue his lackeys, he attempts to buy Foremans loyalties but is rebuked. At the conclusion, word arrives that other unions have joined with the Steelworkers struggle. Even the Liberty Committee, sensing the drift of things, abandons its rich patron. Mister Mister, cowardly and alone, realizes that working people have finally developed a backbone and that he has met his match. It was not until Orson Welles, an actor and theatre director who was working for the WPA at the time, had Blitzstein play it for producer John Houseman. This finally gave Blitzstein his big break. Houseman loved the concept and put it into production straightaway. With Orson Welles as the director the vision of the show started taking shape, perhaps it was a vision that Blitzstein was not expecting. Blitzstein believed in his characters two-dimensionality. He viewed them more as cartoon characters, larger than life. But with the direction of Welles he wanted a spectacle. As read in the article The Cradle that Rocked America Joseph Gustaitis writes: As director, Welles launched himself into The Cradle Will Rock with characteristic Wellesian style, promising Houseman a grandiose production that would be extremely elaborate and expensive. It was. Welles vision would expand to include a 44-member chorus, a 28-piece orchestra, and a set design that used large glass carts to shift scenes. (20) At this time The FTP, and its director, Hallie Flanagan began experiencing pressure from conservative congressmen. Although not directly some congressman had even enquired as to whether there was Communist Ideals in the FTP. It seemed that there would soon be budget cuts made in the WPA Federal theater program. On June 12 word from Washington came through that budget cut were indeed a reality. It read, any new production scheduled to open before July 1, 1937, must be postponed(Gustaitis). This news fell hard upon Welles and Housemen. They then hear news Actors Equity would not permit any of their members to appear on stage, and that the Musicians Union had imposed conditions making it impossible to have an orchestra in the pit (Jansson). They believed that they show would now never open. When they arrived at the Maxine Elliott Theater they found armed guards surrounding the entrance and a pad lock on the door. People in the streets gathered to see what all the commotion was all about. Seeing the crowd wells and housemen realized that, as the saying goes, the show must go on. All they needed was a venue and a piano, and since Blitzstein was not part of any union he could play, sing and act out all the parts. With the Venice theatre willing to open house to them for a small fee and the piano found and on its way, Welles song out to the crowd that The Cradle Will Rock will open as planned in the new location featuring Marc Blitzstein himself. The people gathered and begin to follow them some twenty blocks to the Venice Theater. Onlookers joined the parade, and the crowd grew larger. By nine oclock every one of the Venice theatres 1742 seats were filled (Jansson).

Ophelia as a Foil to Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Litera

Ophelia as a Foil to Hamlet  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚      In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play.   The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Similarities are an important part of being a foil. One similarity that Hamlet and Ophelia share are that they both are children of controlling parents. [SV - 1] Hamlet's father, who is murdered, comes back as a ghost to tell him who his murderer is. This news is his father's way of controlling him from the grave. Hamlet's mother and stepfather are also controlling him by persuading Hamlet not to go to Wittenburg. Ophelia is also controlled by her father. She tells him how Hamlet has tried many times to express his affections for her. Ophelia's father does not believe Hamlet is sincere and orders her to stay away from him. Ophelia obeys her father's wishes. Women were expected to do as they were told and believed what they were told to be true.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another similarity between Hamlet and Ophelia is the feelings they have for each other. In the beginning of the play, we are led to believe that Hamlet loves Ophelia. This frightens Ophelia, but that does not mean she does not have feelings for him also. It is her father who encourages her to suppress any feelings she may have then. Later in the play Ophelia confesses her love for Hamlet, and he then hides his feelings and denies that he loved her. He suggests that she go to a nunnery. This makes Ophelia feel worthless and not wanted. .. ... when Ophelia takes her life, Hamlet does just that. [SS-1] He again admits to his love for her and apologizes to her brother Laertes for the death of their father. At the end of the play Hamlet's madness is also brought to an end, and he joins Ophelia again.    Works Cited and Consulted: Pennington, Michael. "Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996. Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.      

A Garden for the Blind :: Architecture Design Essays

A Garden for the Blind In â€Å"Dimensions of Creativity† in The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida makes note of the dramatic changes seen in the modern world’s society contrasted with society during the 1950’s. Florida delves into the more conspicuous aspects of these analogous societies and makes mention of how at first the differences between them to not seem that dissimilar at first glance. Technology, modern medicine, and other realms remained more or less the same when compared to society in the early 1900’s. What strikes the change between the 1950’s and today as â€Å"bewilderingly different† is the existing social order along with its norms and values. The driving force of this dramatic social change, taking place within the last 50 years, has been the rise of creativity which has instated itself in our economy and society, as it values creativity as well as creative impulse. Creativity in today’s world is continual and widespread. Technological creativity and economical creativity have interacted with artistic and cultural creativity to produce a â€Å"creative ethos† that compels our society through its dynamic transformation. Through the development of these creative elite in our society we are also met with a responsibility to the rest of humanity, to guide and direct them throughout the course of their lives. This must be applied especially to those who are disadvantaged and cannot take care of themselves adequately. Through innovation and design, their needs can be met so that they may harness a sense of belonging in the world. The land located immediately south of the Hume Hall Honors Residential housing consists of approximately one or two acres encircled by a number of trees, all of which is on a slope when looking at the topography of the land. A proposal has been made to build a garden for the blind on this sector of land. Different types of plants and natural resources would be installed into this area in the creation of this garden that would require the use of sensory functions other than just sight or vision. An important bodily function or sense must be greatly considered when dealing with the blind is their sense of touch. In the book Sensory Design, authors Joy Malnar and Frank Vodvarka describe haptic perception, which they quote from James J. Gibson, as â€Å"a sense of touch that includes temperature, pain pressure, and kinesthesia encompassing both body sensation and muscle movement.