Gobi Fund Essay

Why is it difficult to establish a new fund? Why is track record so important in fund raising? The main concern is to convince the investors to invest their money in Gobi. Therefore, it is necessary to raise a rational-sized fund. To raise a new fund is not an easy thing to do as everything including the fund structure, team, approach, LP base, and amount of capital have to be defined appropriately. The general partners also need to contribute their own money in order to convince the investors to invest together with them. The track record is very important in fund raising because if Gobi has a good track record, more investors will be interested to invest in it. Q2. Prepare a SWOT analysis for Gobi Fund II proposal in the context of venture capital fundraising. Gobi operates in an area where there is a lot of pent up demand (IT and digital media). * Gobi can acts like a bridge for western LPs to invest in Chinese companies. It is difficult to raise a new fund and if Gobi do not really have a good track record, it will become harder to gain the investors trust in order to raise the new funds. May have the advantage in acquiring a higher return from investment in the IT and media market since they already invest in that industry during the early stage. Meaning that they already have the experiences in investing in IT industry, therefore, may not become a problem to earn a high return. What are the keys to raising the second fund and how large should it be? There is no definite answer in this question as they could be changing depends on the situations. The planning horizons may take between 7 to 10 years or maybe longer than that because of a lack of infrastructure and development in the industry. The fund size may be between $100 million to $200 million allowing around $2 million to $5 million for each company. The subsequent funds should be of similar size or larger as the industry grows. Gobi wants the first close at $75 million. The key is whether to include more financial LPs or not. Q4. From the perspective of a potential LP, what are your choices when funding international focused VC funds? Would you fund Gobi? Gobi has never exited from an investment before, and there is high level of risks involved in the development of early stage IT companies as well as huge risks that may impede company development and growth. However, Gobi operates in an area where there is a lot of pent up demand (IT and digital media) and Gobi can acts like a bridge for western LPs to invest in Chinese companies. It may be a good choice to invest in it if it offers a rational return considerate with the level of high risks involved.

Swot Analysis of Starbucks

Management 303 SWOT Analysis of Starbucks Corporation Section I – Organizational History / Mission Statement In 1971, Starbuck’s opened its first location in the touristy Pikes Place Market in Seattle. The Starbucks name is derived from the coffee-loving first mate in the novel, Moby Dick. The logo, a two-tailed mermaid encircled by the stores name, continues with the theme and background of the name. From the beginning, Starbucks prides themselves on not only providing their customers with high-quality whole bean coffees, but also with providing them with an inviting atmosphere. The mission statement, â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time†, is seen today in the more than 15,000 locations in more than 150 countries. Section II – Strengths and Weaknesses In my opinion, the top two strengths of Starbucks is their strong brand image associated with their high-quality coffee and their committed and strong workforce. Their top two weaknesses in my opinion are their high premium prices and lack of internal focus. Strength 1 – Strong Brand Image According to G Serrano, â€Å"The strongest attribute that consumers associate with the Starbucks brand is its being known for specialty/gourmet coffee. Starbucks is a widely-recognized brand. Its top-of-mind recall is high. It is both a household name and a buzzword. † By becoming a household name people go to Starbucks to get the â€Å"Starbucks Experience†. This means that Starbucks has made their stores so inviting that people actually get up early in the morning, grab the paper or a good book and drive down to the local Starbucks and basically just chill out. They provide an optional light snack, a good cup of coffee, free Wi-Fi and the comfort of your own home. Being highly recognized for all of the above qualities has contributed in the growth and expansion of their many locations throughout the US and abroad. This is a huge strength in that that being on top of the market share pretty much ensures that no matter what they will continue to stay on top because of their branding and their popularity. Strength 2 – Committed and Strong Workforce Not only does the coffee drive customers to Starbucks, but the dedicated employees who care about their jobs and their customers do as well. Starbucks thinks so highly of their employees, they call them â€Å"partners†. The partners are the ones who create the atmosphere that makes the customers feel the way they do about Starbucks. As Hammers stated in her â€Å"Workforce Management† piece, â€Å"The company’s rich benefit blend keeps turnover low and employee satisfaction high. And that's why it's the Optimas Award winner for Quality of Life. As business owners and managers, our job is to make sure that our employees or partners, for that matter, are happy and well-trained. When this happens, as it has with Starbucks, it outwardly shows to the clientele and it makes them want to come back time and time again. Weakness 1 – High Premium Prices Starbucks is a premium brand that commands premium prices. As competitive pressures increase, the company could b e undercut by lower price rivals such as McDonalds or Duncan Donuts. Recession or downturn in the economy, like we are facing now, affects consumer spending. If Starbucks continues to increase prices over the next few years in the face of increasing coffee prices, there could be a downside to their forecast. In this highly competitive market and with less disposable income to spend, consumers turn to lower priced venues and competitors. † Starbucks should look into some sort of cost saving efforts when it comes to the coffee beans that they buy. I know they are known for their premium brands, but with prices on the steady increase something Weakness 2 – Lack of Internal Focus Starbucks has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade or so. They seem to be consumed with growing their market share by increasing the amount of locations they have within the states as well as abroad. Serrano states just this point in saying â€Å"The growth strategy was not really the failing point. In fact, this augured well for the company’s bottom line. What the company’s executives failed to see was the fact that if it wanted to saturate the market, its product and service offerings were not really meeting the characteristics of the market. That is why the market perceived Starbucks as merely concerned with growth in the number of stores and profits. The wide potential market base did not see Starbucks as concerned with their needs. † Starbucks goes through a lot of effort to get the opinions of their partners and their clients. They even have a board of people who read the queries on a monthly basis to see where improvements can be made. Since they are putting in all the effort, they need to follow through and start listening to the very people that give them their profits. Expanding will do no good if you don’t have any customers. The more they neglect what their partners and customers are saying, the more they are going to lose touch. Section III – Opportunities and Strengths In my opinion, the two biggest opportunities for Starbucks are increasing their CRM and database marketing and expanding into new product lines. Strength 1 – Increasing CRM and Database Marketing One of the greatest opportunities for Starbucks is to increase their CRM and Database Marketing. At the moment Starbucks just asks you what you want, you pay for it, they make your drink and you are on your way. In order to better serve their clients and give back to them, they could come up with some type of rewards program. Many large retailers and food chains have already begun these programs. This would help them stay in touch with their clients by sending them emails of upcoming events, new drinks and new offers. They could also attach a rewards program for the customers who have a daily addiction to their drinks. This basically becomes a win-win situation for not only Starbucks but for their customers as well. Strength 2 – Expanding Product Lines and Services We all know that Starbucks has the best selection of coffees around. Unfortunately, that is all they do. I think one of the greatest opportunities for them would be for them to expand their food line to go along with their drinks. Seeing that they are open all day long and into the night, they could benefit greatly by developing a larger lunch line. They currently have small salads and finger sandwiches at some of their locations. By increasing their menu they could also increase their profits. This would help give them a competitive advantage of other cafes along the same lines as them.

Effects of Music and the Media on Culture and Society Essay

Effects of Music and the Media on Culture and Society - Essay Example In fact, with the growing acceptance of music within the American society, many musicians, composers, and singers have emerged and created their style of music according to their preferred genres. The role of music has given the American society a tool for inspiration, amusement, and encouragement to utilize the musical abilities of the people. However, the effects of music in the society have negated because of how it influences aggressive thoughts, feelings, and actions especially the portrayals of the artists in music videos. According to researches, majority of members of the society who listen to music are the young people, in which music plays a significant role in their teenage lives. Specifically, American adolescents mostly listen to kinds of music such as hip-hop, gangster music, rap, and heavy metal that have a significant impact to the minds and behaviors among youth. For example, teenagers who are fond in listening rap music or gangster music tend to dress themselves as a rapper or gangster based on how music videos display its genre. Hence, despite the fact that music has brought racial unity in the American society, it had also brought negative impacts especially to the minds of the young people in America (â€Å"The Negative Effects†). The Role of Media The media have been used by people all over the world, from a different race, culture, socioeconomic status, and also across ages because of how it served as a tool for knowledge, teaching, amusement, and advertising. The media are responsible for delivering credible and reliable stories, news, and facts to the people around the world. Accordingly, the principal role of media... This report approves that the American society had used media as a tool for entertainment and information through books, films, televisual entertainment, periodicals, advertisements, and online networking. Accordingly, the American society is principally molded by the functional role of media within the lives of the people. Nowadays, the most utilized and influential technology for media is the internet because of how it provides all the portrayal of information and amusements. Furthermore, television is widely used in the society because of its accessibility by the people and attracting more preference rather than listening to a radio or reading periodicals. The media portray different kinds of information that could alter or create different perspective in the minds of the people. For example, people in the society would perceive that the figure of a model is what the society wants, and in turn, tend to have similar figure of the model. This essay amkes a conclusion that music and media have both gained popularity within the American society and became part of the American culture. However, the role of music and media had become stronger and had influenced most of the culture and society in America. Particularly, the existence of music has created an American culture and society that respects different races or ethnicities as people get along through the desire of creating wonderful music. Moreover, the media have created an American culture and society of independence and also the freedom in expressing information that are important for the American people. Hence, the music and media have the important role in shaping the culture and society to the best interest of the people.

Marketing plan of KFC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing plan of KFC - Research Paper Example KFC has a clear cut marketing objective to gain competitive advantages in the market. In course of that the organization uses marketing as an effective weapon. Competitive supremacy with the help of attractive and effective marketing strategy is an inseparable part of their marketing objectives. The organization has stakeholders like investors and franchises. Marketing objectives of the company are also being decided to attract the investors and franchisees. The organization is trying to diversify its portfolio of food items to target more customers. The company has a prominent marketing objective to introduce the newly added food items into the market (Jurevicius, 2013).With the help of strong financial situation the organization can mitigate the threat of market saturation by opening new stores in the developing economies. Target markets of the organization are the individuals who have hectic lifestyles. People who want to give more time to the work rather than food making, the org anization targets those customers. These kinds of customers are very busy in their life styles. The company also targets middle and high income people. Due to the nature of their business KFC intentionally targets urban and suburban places. Population of the urban areas is generally more than the population of the rural areas. People of the urban areas have much more disposable incomes than the people of the rural areas. These areas generate significant revenues for the company. That is why KFC has chosen these kinds of markets (Miah, 2014).

Business law article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business law - Article Example For example, in Europe, a three week vacation is normal but workers in America are not keen in even taking a week off much less three week vacation. Employers however are encouraging tenured employees to take vacation by giving them incentives ranging from $750 to $1,000. The idea was to avoid being burned out at work and to reduce work related stress. Nobody will disagree that everybody needs to rest and have a break at some point. Studies have shown as indicated in the article that employees who unplugs from work reduces the risk of being burned out and reduces work related stress. But having a mandatory long break in a business setting where long breaks are not typically taken may have an adverse effect on the operations and bottom line of a business which is not desirable particularly at this time where companies are still in the process of recovery from a long period of recession during the 2008 financial crisis. Employees having long vacation will obviously leave the business understaffed and a business who is not used to being undermanned may have hard time adjusting and this may affect the company’s competitiveness. Having fewer tenured staffs around meant that the inexperienced employees have to step up and this could make the business under its optimal performance that could leave many customers dissatisfied thus undermining the competitiveness of the business. The timing of implementing sabbaticals or long vacation is also a suspect. It raises the question whether employers can actually afford giving its employees long vacation and to top it, with an incentive that goes with it. It is only recent that companies have recovered from the crisis and most companies may not yet that have deep reservoir of resources to send their employees on long vacation. The efficacy of the sabbatical program is also doubtful in American context who have the penchant of working long as â€Å"work martyr complex†

Land lord and tenant law(english law) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land lord and tenant law(english law) - Essay Example Under Section 8, (1), where as per the agreement between the landlord or the Tenant, or as decided by the Court, specified repairs need to be carried out, and in cases where the initial repairs need to be carried out by the landlord, due to the inability on the part of the tenant to carry out the said repairs with regard to the tenancy, the landlord, in such cases, shall be privileged to claim: 3. This payment shall be made either in instalments, or in any other method agreed upon by the parties mutually or by the Court. (Ministry of Justice: The U.K. Statute Law Database: Statutory Tenancies arising under Part I : provisions as to repairs during period of statutory tenancy ) As mentioned earlier, the responsibility of the tenant and the landlord with regard to the repairs of the dwelling house, during the period of statutory tenancy shall be as covenanted, or as determined by the Court. The matters that need to be considered would be: 3. 1. The amount to be included as payment of the accused tenant's repairs, and paid off by the landlord for the determination of the costs 2. The estimated costs that have been incurred by the landlord. 3. Whether payment for the accrued tenant's repairs should be made by instalments or through any other mode of payment, and, in the event it is made through instalments, the amount of yearly instalments, the 1st instalments due and the periodicity of instalments. 4. It shall also be made known whether there are any other obligations, with regard to repair of dwelling house during the period of statutory tenancy, other than relating to the payment of initial repairs, and if so , the nature of such obligations. (Ministry of justice, The U.K. Statute Law Database : Statutory tenancies arising under Part 1 : Provisions as to repairs during period of statutory tenancies : Under Section 9, if it is the Court that has to determine what the initial repairs need to be, the sum determined by the Court, shall be done with the permission of the landlord and the tenants, and shall not exceed "what is required to bring the dwelling-house into good repair or the carrying out of any repairs not specified by the landlord in his application as repairs which he is willing to carry out" (Ministry of justice). Further, good repairs has been construed to mean the repairs needed to make good the structure and furnishings, taking into account the useful life, construction and area, in which the premises lies. Further, it has been laid out that Court shall not impose any repair liability on the tenant, without his consent. Further under Section 9 (4), the law does not require that the place needs to be kept in a higher condition of repair, than that what expected to be, post the initial repairs, and in the absence of any agreement, in a better condition than it was when the Court had determined the liability of repair to be imposed. Coming to the aspect of this case study, it is seen that Mr Razor, who is the owner of Focal House has requested Mr. Shabby, the tenant, to

The Fugitive Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Fugitive - Movie Review Example As a suspect, police arrests Kimble and accuses him of having committed the murder of his own wife. Without having a sound reason for suspecting or arresting Kimble, the police convict him and the court sentences Kimble to death. The police carries him to the prison where he would wait till he is executed. In the bus in which Kimble is taken to the prison, there happen to be three prisoners in addition to Kimble. They mutually prepare a plan of escaping from the bus. This causes the bus driver to lose control of the bus and the bus slips off the embankment and gets crashed on the way to the jail. This provides Kimble with a chance to escape. Kimble manages to break free of the hold of police and runs away. Deputy Samuel Gerard who is also in Chicago assumes the responsibility of finding and arresting Kimble ninety minutes after Kimble’s escape. During this time, instead of relying on the capability of police, Kimble commences an investigation on his own and tries to find out t he murderer of Helen. In this course, Kimble is also keen to involve Deputy Samuel Gerard and other members in his team. The police do not accede to his proposal and the Deputy constantly follows Kimble. This leaves Kimble with no choice but to keep away from all of his relatives and fellows. Kimble leaves no stone unturned in his efforts of catching the murderer. Meanwhile, the Deputy also starts to believe that the case is indeed more complicated and vague than he had originally anticipated. His ingenuity and uninterrupted determination gain fruition and Kimble reaches the conclusion that there is no one in this world that he can trust. The murderer ultimately discovered turns out to be a one-armed man. The concept has been derived from a television series that was telecast in 1960s. In that series, the title role was played by late David Jansen. However, the story has been too modified to leave any touch of the original source of idea. In that series, the adventure was narrated w eek after week of Jansen’s escape, and there was much more to attract the audience than simply the murderer’s chase unlike this two hour film, in which chasing the real criminal is the focus of the plot. The Fugitive is an exceptional movie based on murder investigation. Among all scenes in the movie, the ones that were shot before the commencement of the chase are the most dramatic and purposefully included. Everything that is related to the assassination is clearly conveyed to the audience in a prologue of no more than fifteen minutes. The scenes are quite well-edited. The doctor has to cope with two miseries simultaneously. He is convicted for the murder of his beloved wife. In such tough circumstances, he makes rational decisions which lead him to success in the long run. The opening scenes are followed by a non-stop thrill made by the Deputy and his men for about thirty minutes. These scenes are full of energy and the audience keeps on the seats’ edges. The speed of action considerably fades away in the second hour of the movie as Kimble starts finding the one armed man. However, giving this portion of the story more time does make sense as most of the problems of the movie are engrossed in this part. The performance of Harrison Ford in this movie is much more emotional than it was in Patriot Games. The performance that is indeed, most worthy of discussion and appreciation is that of Tommy Lee Jones. He had been struggling for a couple of years until 1993, when his superb performance in this movie became a potential

How Does Paid Employment Affect Your Identity Essay

How Does Paid Employment Affect Your Identity - Essay Example Marxist view of capitalist work: Karl Marx’s theory of capitalism is significant enough to understand the relationship of the identity of an individual with that of the nature of his employment. Karl Marx explained in his work, the role of capitalism in shaping the modern society. In his theory he mentioned the effectiveness of capitalism in maintaining a relationship between different classes (Klegg, 1990, p.55). According to the theory, the goal of the capitalist is to gain maximum profit in the business and generally the capitalist reach their goals by the exploitation of the labor class. The capitalist exploit the conditions of the labors by paying the labors with wages which are much lesser than their efforts they put in for the work. The difference in the value of the wages paid to the workers acts as a source of profit for the capitalist. According to the theory it can be comprehended that the motive of the capitalist are always fulfilled as they take an upper hand and decides the fate of the others. This nature of the capitalist or the employers identifies them as exploiters of the society and the workers or the laborers in the society are referred as the exploited section of the economy (Baiman, et al, 2000, pp.42-44). The general identification of the two broad division of the society can be attained from the theory of the capitalist work by Karl Marx. Karl Marx also held the idea that the economic structure of the society has a high level of influence on the thoughts of the human being and also guides the behavior of the people. The thought process and the behaviorist pattern of the individuals is a guiding factor for setting of an identity in the society and determine the overall reputation of the individual. The Marxian theory also classifies the social structure based on the nature of employment of the persons. (Anderson & Taylor, 2010, p.17) Ervin Gofman’s theory of dramaturgy and Impression management: The concept of dramaturgy was framed by the sociologist Erving Goffman, where he brought in the idea that the life of the individuals is symbolical to a never ending play or drama and the people are the mere actors in the stage of life (Ritzer, 2004, p.211). The theory of impression management was also devised by him where he stated that the individuals show a general tendency to manipulate the behavior of others in the stage of life. In depicting the behavior of others various factors creep which are social setting, appearance and manner of interaction of an individual. These factors help to establish the relation between the identities of an individual and the nature of his paid employment (Kendall, 2011, p.574). The social setting of a person is one of the guiding factors to determine the identity of a person. The income level of a person builds up the social setting of a person and subsequently helps in creating his identity in the society. An Individual with high level of income tends to have a flamboyant social setting does his best to create an identity among the people that he belongs to the upper level of society. On the contrary the lower economic sections of the society do not have much resource to draw the attention of people. Their social setting is devoid of any materialistic thing as they face hard time in fulfilling their primary needs. According to Goffman, appearance of a person is also a crucial factor in setting up his identity in t

Role of NGOs and Humanitarian Organizations in Peace Building Essay

Role of NGOs and Humanitarian Organizations in Peace Building - Essay Example Usually, NGOs or the development community has struggled to stay away from conflict situations. Concentrating instead on their development and humanitarian operations, aid groups have regarded themselves and their subsidies to be impartial and nonpartisan (Church, 2004, 23-24). Current scholarships on Somalia and Rwanda, though, have seriously challenged this view (Carey & Richmond, 2003,136). For instance, Peter Uvin (1998, 3) has studied the relationship of development assistance with the forces and mechanisms that resulted in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. â€Å"In countries like Rwanda,† he states in Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda, â€Å"where development aid provides a large share of the financial and moral resources of government and civil society, development aid cannot help but play a crucial role in shaping the process that leads to violence† (Uvin, 1998, 3). Another author, Michael Marin, has illustrated a much more threatening picture in the case of humanitarian intervention in Somalia all through the 1980s, concluding that development and humanitarian aid is mainly useless and unintentionally detrimental and that it circulates a system of hostility, corruption, and dependency (Cutter, 2001, 210). Hence, if the humanitarian intervention has the capability of inflicting even more suffering on the people and communities already exposed to hostilities, as these authors seem to claim, then should we dispose of development aid and humanitarian intervention altogether? In Mary Anderson’s perceptive and sensible book Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace-or War, she retorts: â€Å"It is a moral fallacy to conclude that because aid can do harm, the decision not to give aid would not do harm† (Anderson, 1999, 23). A collaborative endeavor of international donor agencies, United Nations organizations, NGOs, and other delegates of the international development and humanitarian community Do No Harm examines the experiences of the people struggling to provide development aid and humanitarian assistance in conflict regions in order to enhance intervention (Cutter, 2001, 210).

Analysis Of A Health Care Organization Research Paper

Analysis Of A Health Care Organization - Research Paper Example This subsequently helps them in enhancing social, mental, spiritual and physical well-being. Following are the organization’s core values (Mission Statement and Guiding Values, 2014): †¢ Showing love and compassion. †¢ Recognizing the dignity and value of every individual as per the religious commandments. †¢ Enabling people to spend a healthy life in terms of soul, mind, and body. †¢ Serving people belonging to every ethnicity, religion, culture, socioeconomic status and gender within the community. †¢ Connecting community with individuals in order to increase the reach of organizational services. †¢ Valuing resources that God has given such as time, financial resources, talent, and humans. The organization has a very distinct philosophy of care which compels it to extend its services to other communities as well. They believe in the protection of fundamental human rights while recognizing that spiritual health requires as much care as the physical health. In order to implement this philosophy, they have established equitable, accessible and ethical health care facilities for patients coming to them. Apart from this, Adventist Whole Health Network’s goal is to meet faith related issues of the community members while also advocating and training them towards a better lifestyle (Faith Community Nursing, 2014). The organizational structure initiates with the board of directors whereas all the community projects are completed with the collaborative efforts of staff members including doctors and nurses.

Advanced Language Arts Essay Example for Free

Advanced Language Arts Essay Although teachers might disagree, having students eating in class will help students and teachers stay on task and not worry about lunch time. Staff should let us students eat during class because students will be more focused, awake, and excited to learn and participate in class. If student were able to eat during class then they would be able to concentrate on the objective they are learning instead of thinking about â€Å"what’s for lunch?† One of the many reasons students should be able to eat in class is due to that us students don’t have enough time to wake up earlier and cook our self a nice meal. We barely have enough time to get ready for school in the mornings. It is even harder, trying to eat breakfast, if a student has to walk to school every day. All of the years that I’ve been attending school there have not been a year when teachers don’t emphasize how important eating breakfast is. We have heard multiple of times â€Å"the most important mean of the day is breakfast.† Another reason why students should be able to eat in class is because teachers are allowed to eat in front of us but we are not allowed to eat in class. We should have to follow the same rules. There has been a time where I go to school with any empty stomach and I always see a teacher eating a granola bar. Seeing them eat doesn’t let me concentrate and it gets me more hungry and at that time I just hold my stomach tight and hope my stomach doesn’t growl. My final reason why teachers should let students eat in class is because kids will have energy to participate in class. Shouldn’t all teachers desire to see all their students’ hands up eager to answer questions? If teachers would just give it a chance and let students eat in lass they would be participating in school activities and fund raisers. In conclusion, eating during class will help students concentrate and have energy.

The dissolution of empire has been critical to the growth of world cities Essay Example for Free

The dissolution of empire has been critical to the growth of world cities Essay King (1990, page x) argues that the dissolution of empire has been critical to the growth of world cities. How far does this apply to London? Modern patterns of development and growth have been shaped and influenced by the historical context of colonialism. Within this context relationships between capitalist and pre-capitalist states or colonies helped forge a world economy, which would later lead to processes of globalisation and the current economic world order. Expansion in the world economy has been exacerbated by the freer flow of labour, goods, services and capital, which are features of the post-war, post-colonial world. King contends that these factors have been critical to the growth of world cities. (King, 1990: x) Urbanisation in many post-colonial states has been rapid, supported by trade with a greater number of nations compared with that of the colonial period. Indeed, many colonial nations have now followed their own paths of industrialisation, instead of relying primarily on their export of natural resources such as timber; their economies are becoming more diverse and are now linked within a global network of trade and commerce that is enabling them to develop significantly. Existing at the heart of these states are primary cities, the administrative and economic centres for their new global roles. World cities can be defined by their size, population and area; they are usually the economic hub of the country in which they are seats of power and dominate in the cultural arena with their iconic architectural distinctiveness and the importance of their historical roles. World cities lie at the junction between the world economy and the territorial national state. (Friedmann and Wolff, 1982) The city of London fills these criteria perfectly, its former position as the centre of the British Empire made London the imperial metropolis of the world. H.G Wells described his impression of imperial London: Its a great place. Immense. The richest town in the world, the biggest port, the greatest manufacturing town, the imperial city the centre of civilisation, the heart of the world. (Wells H.G, 1908:73) In this essay I will be discussing the significance of Kings argument with reference to the city of London. Imperial London will be introduced followed by a discussion of Londons decline and its patterns of modern growth in order to ascertain how far Kings argument applies to the City. Different types of growth are included, but emphasis is largely placed on the geographical and economic dimensions of Londons change and development. Londons imperial role was crucial to the expansion of its fortunes. Growth was inextricably linked with the colonial empire and took place in several key areas during the colonial interlude. Londons Docklands represented a melting pot of colonial trade and commerce and were a critical facet of Londons (and Great Britains) economy that fed aspects of growth into the city centre and enabled it to thrive. In 1700 London handled 80% of the countrys imports and 69% of its exports. Trade with colonies in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Indian Sub-Continent brought in tea, china, rice, tobacco and spices to the City and in 1799 the West India Company began to build docks on the Isle of Dogs for over 600 ships. The importance of Londons Docklands lies in their influential role as conduit of wealth to the City and their symbolic nature as gateways to the empire from its thriving commercial centre. Trade flourished, and London became a market-driven commercial and financial hub for world trade. Manufacturers established themselves in the city centre and markets developed around them supported by a growing number of banks. The city centre, therefore, was a series of markets and had few residential zones; warehouses formed a prominent part of the landscape. Imperial London also witnessed the growth of a market in stocks and shares located at the London Stock Exchange, and the establishment of large insurance companies such as Lloyds of London. Londons rising financial sector was represented by the Bank of England, which issued loans to new colonies whilst giving security to the blossoming economy of Great Britain. The Citys role as a cultural centre was represented by huge investment in museums and theatres and its dominant global position was expressed through monuments depicting colonial glories and exhibitions showcasing British power. Whilst there was growth of commerce alongside growth of the Citys financial sector, trends later developed in the form of rapid suburban growth aided by improved infrastructure in and around London. The London County Council (LCC) took on numerous housing projects peaking at 16,000 units that gradually expanded outwards form the City and were facilitated by improvements in communications, a tramway system and the electrification of the railways. As the new century dawned, Londons position at the hub of the worlds largest empire gave work to half a million in the docks and in import-related occupations.London continued to grow; between 1911 and 1939 its population increased from 7.25 to 8.73 million entirely in the outer ring beyond the LCC boundaries. (Porter, 1994:32) Urbanisation during this period was undoubtedly fed by the provisions created by empire, manifested in a country with a confident and specialised role in the world economy. In this system, London occupied the nodal point of a colonial urban system in which the economies of the metropolis and of such distant cities as Calcutta or Sydney and their respective hinterlands complemented one another and were heavily interdependent. (Sheppard, 1998:313) The testing of imperial Londons power by two world wars and the following dissolution of empire were to dramatically change the face of the City. These influences forced upon London the devastating effects of The Blitz and the processes of relinquishing power to the colonised nations, which had for so long been the source of Londons wealth. Inevitably Londons power began to decline and it was challenged with finding new ways to rebuild and to grow. [London] was sustained by surplus extracted from the colonial economy. With the demise of the colonial power, it lacked the economic base to meet the social costs it generated. [This resulted in] problems of housing, a shortage of economic resourcesand a lack of the institutional infrastructure to deal with social, administrative and political needs. (King, 1990:45) Disappearance of hegemonic power systems took place, and the nation-state grew in significance as a unit of analysis. Within these nation states the seats of power were able to control their own destinies and determine growth within their own political boundaries; this growth was facilitated by the freer flow of goods and capital through the nation states principal cities. The dissolution of empire and the effects of the Second World War led to a dramatic shift in the nature of Londons economy which ultimately affected its growth. The collapse of the manufacturing industries is a case in point, and from the mid-1950s people began to suffer job losses in this area. Between 1971 and 1975 19 per cent of manufacturing jobs disappearedbetween 1978 and 1981 some 98,700 jobs in manufacturing and production were lost. (Coupland, 1992:26-27) Commerce also declined in central London and as unemployment rose a deprived inner city began to emerge. Londons problems were exacerbated not only by the housing problems caused by wartime damage, but by the closure of the docks, which had survived the war but could not survive the break-up of empire. The Empirehad long ensured Londons position as the worlds premier port [.] Independence, however, loosened old trading ties; no longer was trade automatically routed through London, and new nations created trading preferences of their own, selling direct to America, Germany and Japan. During the 1960s Commonwealth trade was halved, and London shrank as an entrepot. (Porter, 1994, 348) The closure of this critical dimension of Londons power represented symbolic as well as industrial and demographic decline. Moreover, while disintegration of manufacturing in London can be attributed to varying factors such as economic recession, the closure of the Docks are inextricably linked to the dissolution of the British Empire. The closure also affected activities linked to the Docklands: transport, warehousing and food processing industries and systems were damaged and the Citys economic woes took shape in the form of rapid demographic change. As people moved outward from Greater London the population began to decrease, from 8,600,000 in 1939 to 6,300,000 in 1991, a trend which continues today. The unemployment rate in the industrial areas of inner-London rose to 14 per cent in 1981, while a new trend of mass immigration from the Commonwealth changed the ethnic composition of Londons population and reflected Londons increasing diversity. The dynamics of Londons decline began to influence new processes of growth, both physical and economic. The new industries that grew up in London were connected to its role as an information city and there was an escalation in the significance of the cultural production sector. Tourism became a major source of income for London. Systems of land-use planning began to determine Londons physical growth, with the establishment of the Green Belt designed to fix an area of permanent countryside around the city in a policy to shift 1,033,000 Londoners and workplaces beyond its boundaries. This policy may have hindered urban sprawl, but it has also led to new types of growth in the form of an Outer Ring, as towns on Londons periphery have had to adapt and grow due to the population exodus from Greater London. Altogether, this Outer Ring added nearly one million to [Londons] population in the decade 1951-61, representing two-fifths of the net growth of the British population. (Hall, 1977:24) The growth of the Outer Ring coincided with various strategies by the LCC including the development of tower-block estates, a move that would later lead to rising social problems in the areas in which they were built. There continued to be a rise in office space in the inner city, as Londons financial sector remained strong alongside an influx of the middle classes into inner-suburb precincts. Consequently improvements in housing took hold mainly in areas such as Notting Hill, Paddington and Mile End. The 1960s were witness to the increased significance of London as a cultural centre and the City became an international heart of fashion, music and design. [T]he City grew impressively from the 1960s, thanks to a combination of accident, expertise, language and geography. (Porter, 1994:374) Redevelopment of London began with the comprehensive reconstruction of Tower Hamlets and in more recent times with the controversial redevelopment of the Docklands. The scale of redevelopment of the Docklands is characterised by the construction of Great Britains tallest building: Canary Wharf. The area creates office space for 40,000 to 60,000 workers and symbolises the emergence of a new and modern London, one that is predominantly concerned with business and finance, and one that continues to exude success due to these sectors. From this discussion we can clearly see the importance of Londons imperial status in relation to its growth. Dissolution of empire has indeed been critical to the growth of world cities as they have become more freely exposed to the processes of globalisation and have had greater control of their position in the world economy. This contention can be exemplified by the current position of world cities, such as New York and Singapore in the economic world order and the growth of former colonys capitals as they engage in directing their own futures, levels of trade and spatial organisation. London, however, is an exceptional case. As an imperial city it was largely dependent on its colonial territories for sustaining its own growth and power. Whereas eighty or ninety years ago, London was at the core of the world system, a generator of powerful economic, political and cultural forces pushing out to the periphery, today it increasingly contends with equally powerful economic, political, and cultural forces pressing in from outside.'(King, 1990:73) This change has increased the vulnerability of Londons economy. All other world cities havehad to adapt to the internationalization of the world economy Paris and New York, for instance; but what distinguishes London is the degree of its former imperial dominance, and the extent to which internationalization has brought foreign ownership, and hence dependence. (Sheppard, 1998:359) Modern London now has to compete with other primary cities which have not had to undergo such a dramatic transition in their character and global position. Significant redevelopment has taken place in recent years and London continues to exemplify the world city. Its prominent role in Europe, its historical importance, imposing architecture, economic wealth and position as seat of power all contribute to make London one of the major cities of the world. The importance of dissolution of empire to many world cities is demonstrated by the increased flow of capital, labour, goods and services which have enabled them to grow. Imperial London already contained these processes which were fundamentally linked with its dominant global role, it is therefore, increasingly dependent and vulnerable within the new world economic order. However, the disintegration of its imperial role has not been completely negative to Londons growth, the City has just had to find time and method to help adapt and reposition itself within a new global system. Within this system London has now found a specific function as a global centre for banking and financial trading, which increasingly determine its international role and its patterns of modern growth. Bibliography. Coupland, Andy: Every Job an Office Job. And Docklands: Dream or Disaster? In Thornley, Andy (ed) (1992) The Crisis of London. Routledge. Friedmann, J and Wolff, G. (1982) World City formation: an agenda for research and action., International Journal of Urban and Regional Research: 6. Hall, P (1977 2nd edition) The World Cities. Weidenfield and Nicholson, London. Ch 2. King, AD (1990) Global Cities: Post-Imperialism and the Internationalization of London. Routledge. Porter, Roy (1994) London: A Social History. Penguin, London. Shappard, Francis (1998) London: A History. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Wells, H.G. (1908) Tono-Bungay. London: Oldhams Press.

Contrasting Edmund Burke And Jean Jacque Rousseau Politics Essay

Contrasting Edmund Burke And Jean Jacque Rousseau Politics Essay Two of the most influential political philosophers of the 18th century were Edmund Burke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau. That is not to say that the two men shared the same philosophical views, however; in fact, it could be argued that they were on the opposite sides of the political spectrum, with Burke on the right and Rousseau to the left. A classic example that showed the differing opinions among the two was the French Revolution. Burke was not in favor of the revolution because he maintained that it would disrupt the traditions of France that hold the country together. Rousseau, on the other hand, was a hero of the revolution because he championed liberty and the idea that the people should be in control on how they should be governed. It is amazing to think that two philosophers, having very different perspectives on politics, can both be influential during the same time period. One of the core aspects of Jean-Jacque Rousseaus philosophy was what man was like in the state of nature. In the Second Discourse, Rousseau explained that people were equal and free going back tens of thousands of years because there was no real societal organization to speak of. Since life was centralized on hunting and gathering food, people were, for the most part, equal in terms of societal stature. People were relatively free because no one had to answer to a higher authority, with the family structure being the only exception. Since people were free and equal, they were innocent and individualistic in nature. There were no outside forces that had a corruptive effect on people and there was no reason for groups of people to band together to form a society. According to Rousseau, the development of reason and private property rights ruined equality and freedom because they lead to the few dominating the many. As populations started to grow, there was a greater need for more socie tal hierarchy due to the complex nature of communities, thus less freedom and more inequality. Even though society today believes that reason is a positive thing, Rousseau insisted that progress brought the worst out in people. Rousseau was not necessarily arguing in favor of going back to the time of early humans per se. He knew that society was a point of no return, so he had to be somewhat practical. What he was arguing was to return to the roots of equality and freedom as much as practically possible. The way to achieve that goal politically, Rousseau argued in the Social Contract for a political system that put most of the power in the hands of the people and not the elites. Rousseau was a contract theorist, which meant that he believed that government should only operate with the consent of the people that it is governing. What set him apart from the other contract theorists was that he coined the term general will. What Rousseau meant was that all men should sacrifice their own individual power in order to give way to what he called the general will. In other words, all men give up some of their freedom in order to what is best for the society as a whole. The thing that is not so clear is the mechanism in finding out what the general will is. For example, is it the compilation of the opinions of individuals or is it something that is even greater than public opinion, such as having to understand human nature? Being that there were conflicting issues that faced Rousseaus politic al philosophy, he kept on falling back on the idea of radical democracy. Since Rousseau was so distrustful of political institutions in general, he felt that people should always have a seat at the table when it came to determining policy. With that being said, it would seem that Rousseau was not in favor of having a republican form of government. Instead, as noted before, he was more in favor of a radical democracy. For this reason, he was a hero of the French Revolution. The revolutionaries read Rousseaus work and were inspired to take action against the monarchy, even though Rousseau was not even alive when the revolution started. Abiding by the slogan of Liberty, equality, and fraternity! during the duration of the revolution, the revolutionaries took the cue from Rousseaus political philosophy. The practicality question enters the conversation again, however, when talking about Rousseaus radical democracy. Is it even possible for a country to function properly with every citizen participating? At what point would moving towards a representative government be too far for Rousseau? It would be interesting to find out the answers of these questions from Rousseau himself because he was more of a practical thinker than some people give him credit for. Rousseaus political philosophy would seem to be paradoxical when you think about it, which is why the interpretation of his work is still being debating to this day. Edmund Burke is widely regarded as the founder of the modern conservative ideology. Although he did not believe in adhering to abstract principles when governing, his body of work clearly showed that he valued tradition and stability above all else. Similar to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, nature played a significant role for Burke when developing his political philosophy. Burke wrote that there are two natures. The first nature refers to: the idea that people love their families and that family provides a certain amount of stability and continuity, and that people are more comfortable with what is familiar to them. Burkes second nature refers to the acquired opinions that people accumulate throughout their lives, such as habits and customs. According to Burke, the second nature is what cements society because it provides the traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. As societies and times change, people should always hold on to the traditions that are passed down becau se they form the foundation of stability. Another plank in Burkes political philosophy is practicality. He did not believe that you can run a society based on abstract philosophy because it is not grounded in reality of the current situation. Rather, he was a pragmatist who looked at issues on their face value and tried to come up with solutions that fitted the time. That is not so say that he did not have any values, however. As noted before, he was a big believer in tradition and stability. Burke just argued that overarching philosophies cannot be applied the same in every circumstance because each circumstance has its own unique qualities. Burke is famous for his criticism of the French Revolution in Reflections on the Revolution in France. He was against the revolution because he believed that it would have destroyed Frances great traditions and that the theory and practicality behind the revolution were not sustainable. Burke did not agree with the revolutionists belief that government is created to protect the natural rights of individuals. Instead, he insisted that government was there as a stabilizing force so that people could live comfortably. Also, Burke believed that culture and tradition are more worthy in being protected than natural rights of individuals because they are much more long-lasting. Another problem that Burke had with the French Revolution was the idea that society can be formed from scratch. Burke asserted that societies cannot simply start over from scratch because he believed that leaders make prudent decisions based on the conditions that are in front of them. Installing a new political regime, in Burkes point of view, is not all that practical. With that being said, Burke was not a contract theorist because contract theory provides that a new society can be created by man. Rather, he saw society as an invisible link that connected generations to each other, carrying with it the established customs and institutions. These lasting institutions should be protected and respected due to the fact that they survived, thus showing their adaptability to changing times. It can certainly be argued that Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke had very different views when it came to their political philosophies. Rousseau was in favor of radical democracy and did not trust societal institutions, while Burke valued tradition and stability above everything else. However, there are commonalities that the two did share. One is that both of them believed that times change, so adhering to rigid ideologies was not the wisest thing to do. Rousseau admitted that early man practices were outdated, so he was not so stubborn to strictly stick to that belief system. He did believe that the themes of equality and freedom that was present during the days of early man were everlasting enough to still be applied to his present day. Burke also acknowledged that the world does not sit still. Even though he strongly believed that tradition and stability had to be protected, he knew that life moves on. The reason why he argued for the respect for traditions and institutions that have endured several generations is due to the fact that they showed their adaptability during changing times. Related to the two mens shared view of not sticking to a rigid ideology, Rousseau and Burke both had nuanced political philosophies; neither of their philosophies were black and white. Rousseaus philosophy was so nuanced that it could be considered contradicting, as noted before. In the Social Contract, he famously said, Man was born free and everywhere he is in chains. But later on in the same work he argued for the general will and that sometimes men must be forced to be free. One could make the case that he was a libertarian, while another could equally claim that he was a totalitarian. Burke was nuanced to a lesser extent than Rousseau, but nuanced nonetheless. He knew that holding on to the past can only go so far, which is why he asserted that while times does go on, it is still important to carry on the traditions and culture that were passed on by previous generations. An interesting thing to note about Burke is that he was in favor of the American Revolution. This goes to show that he was not against all revolutions, again showing his nuanced approach to politics. The reason why he supported the American Revolution is because the colonists were not creating a society from scratch. The colonists, descendants of England, were committed to English ideas and principles. The only difference was that they wanted to a free and independent nation. The French revolutionaries, on the other hand, were hell-bent on creating a whole new political paradigm. As far as my opinion is concerned, I think that both Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke contributed significantly to the field of political philosophy. Even though they had different thoughts on how government should operate, both of them had valid points. I agree with Rousseau that people should have a say in the way that they should be governed because history has shown that democracies have been the most peaceful form of government and it seems to be the most fair system (at least so far). But I agree with Burke as far as remembering your societys history and culture because you would not be where you are in life if it wasnt for previous generations. I also concur with Burke that society should not change too quickly, as it might cause instability that might do more harm than good. It turns out that I am quite nuanced with my approach to political philosophy, just as Rousseau and Burke were.

Communities of Lantern Yard and Raveloes Influence on the Development

Communities of Lantern Yard and Raveloe's Influence on the Development of Silas Marner's Character Silas Marner, "The Weaver of Raveloe" was, in my opinion, greatly influenced by the two communities in which he spent his life. The first, Lantern Yarn was a religious community that is going through a period of industrialisation during the novel, whereas Raveloe, where we remain for the large part of the novel, has not yet felt the industrial revolution and is the countryside of community and society. It is ironic that the two communities were so different yet they both drove Silas to turn inward (though the influence of certain Raveloe citizens eventually made him turn outwards again). In George Eliot's novel, we learn a lot about community and we can see a clear definition of what this means. In Lantern Yard, the community shares its potent Christian beliefs while Raveloe habitants all share a love for social behaviour and share an understanding of a clear class system. While both groups of people (Lantern Yard and Raveloe) are very different, they both show us that a community is the people of an area who share their origins, beliefs and/or interests. In Lantern Yard, Silas was a highly regarded, prominent member of the community. He was well educated and it was in Lantern Yard that he started to turn away from the knowledge of medicinal herbs that his mother had taught him. In Lantern Yard, Silas was extremely trusting and open. We also see early on in the novel that Silas had a clear ability to love. A religious man, he found enjoyment in the debate of religious matters and he fell in love with a woman named Sarah. He was, however, betrayed by his best friend William Dane (Waif) and brought to a... ...harp contrasts with chapter twenty-one. Eliot also uses colours to create a more vivid image for the reader, one you can almost feel yourself being part of and while Lantern Yard is, to Eppie at least a "dark, ugly place" and "worse than the workhouse" Raveloe remains light, friendly and ""a pretty home"." In conclusion, Silas Marner's character was greatly influenced by the two communities in which he spent his life. Firstly, Lantern Yard, his original home, caused him to turn inward and forced him to enter into a downward spiral, something from which he was eventually lifted by the Raveloe community. While Raveloe did, at first allow him to carry on in isolation, the community eventually changed his character, and aided him in the path to self discovery as he subconsciously endeavoured to learn to trust again, learn to love again and how to be loved. Communities of Lantern Yard and Raveloe's Influence on the Development Communities of Lantern Yard and Raveloe's Influence on the Development of Silas Marner's Character Silas Marner, "The Weaver of Raveloe" was, in my opinion, greatly influenced by the two communities in which he spent his life. The first, Lantern Yarn was a religious community that is going through a period of industrialisation during the novel, whereas Raveloe, where we remain for the large part of the novel, has not yet felt the industrial revolution and is the countryside of community and society. It is ironic that the two communities were so different yet they both drove Silas to turn inward (though the influence of certain Raveloe citizens eventually made him turn outwards again). In George Eliot's novel, we learn a lot about community and we can see a clear definition of what this means. In Lantern Yard, the community shares its potent Christian beliefs while Raveloe habitants all share a love for social behaviour and share an understanding of a clear class system. While both groups of people (Lantern Yard and Raveloe) are very different, they both show us that a community is the people of an area who share their origins, beliefs and/or interests. In Lantern Yard, Silas was a highly regarded, prominent member of the community. He was well educated and it was in Lantern Yard that he started to turn away from the knowledge of medicinal herbs that his mother had taught him. In Lantern Yard, Silas was extremely trusting and open. We also see early on in the novel that Silas had a clear ability to love. A religious man, he found enjoyment in the debate of religious matters and he fell in love with a woman named Sarah. He was, however, betrayed by his best friend William Dane (Waif) and brought to a... ...harp contrasts with chapter twenty-one. Eliot also uses colours to create a more vivid image for the reader, one you can almost feel yourself being part of and while Lantern Yard is, to Eppie at least a "dark, ugly place" and "worse than the workhouse" Raveloe remains light, friendly and ""a pretty home"." In conclusion, Silas Marner's character was greatly influenced by the two communities in which he spent his life. Firstly, Lantern Yard, his original home, caused him to turn inward and forced him to enter into a downward spiral, something from which he was eventually lifted by the Raveloe community. While Raveloe did, at first allow him to carry on in isolation, the community eventually changed his character, and aided him in the path to self discovery as he subconsciously endeavoured to learn to trust again, learn to love again and how to be loved.

progression of america :: essays research papers

Progress is a steady improvement, on advancement toward a better stage, America has made an enormous progression because of the charter issued by King James I of England; John Smith; and even though it was a small contribution, the Tobacco industry which was established by John Rolfe. May 24th was the first day for many settlers and they had no idea as to that day being the first day of the rest of their lives. A couple years passed and a charter came along from the king of England.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On May 24th, 1606, about 100 settlers set foot on â€Å"American† soil. They had founded Jamestown. This just didn’t come out of anywhere, King James I had proposed a charter for them to do so. The charter allowed the joint-stock company of England or also known as the Virginia Company to colonize (1.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later after about two years a guy named Captain John Smith emerged as basically the savior of the colonists. He set the colonists straight. HE did this by forceful leadership. He knew that if they didn’t learn to survive, they would die. It was up to him as the leader to persuade them to do so. The colonists, before John Smith came along, died of malnutrition, disease, and attacks from Native Americans. Although John Smith did not reign for a long period of time, he accomplished a lot (2.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tobacco industry, even though it was a small contribution to the progression of America, it was made possible by John Rolfe. He is credited with the introduction of tobacco into Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh, even though did not introduce tobacco into Virginia he did indeed introduce it to England. John Rolfe found a tobacco that the colonists liked or enjoyed to smoke or chew, their was tobacco already that was planted by the native Americans but the colonists basically did not enjoy it so obviously it was good that someone like John Rolfe did (3.

Zoroastrianism Essay -- essays research papers

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is the ancient pre-Islamic religion of Iran that survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Iranian (Persian) immigrants are known as Parses, or Pareses. In India the religion is call Parsiism. Founded by the Iranian prophet and reformer Zoroaster in the 6th century BC, the religion contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. It influenced the other major Western religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ancient Greeks saw in Zoroastrianism the archetype of the dualistic view of the world and of man's destiny. Zoroaster was supposed to have instructed Pythagoras in Babylon and to have inspired the Chaldean doctrines of astrology and magic, could be considered the arch-heretic. In more recent times the study of Zorastrianism has played a decisive part in reconstructing the religion and social structure of the Indo-European peoples. Though Zoroastrianism was never, even in the thinking of its founder, as aggressively monotheistic as, for instance, Judaism or Islam, it does represent an original attempt at unifying under the worship of one supreme god a polytheistic religion comparable to those of the ancient Greeks, Latins, Indians and other early peoples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Its other salient feature, namely dualism, was never understood in an absolute, rigorous fashion. Good and Evil fight an unequal battle in which the former is assured of triumph. God's omnipotence is thus only temporarily limited. In this struggle man must enlist because of his capacity of free choice. He does so with his soul and body, not against his body, for the opposition between good and evil is not the same as the one between spirit and matter. Contrary to the Christian or Manichaean attitude, fasting and celibacy are proscribed, except as part of the purifacatory ritual. Man's fight has a negative aspect, nonetheless: he must keep himself pure; i.e., avoid defilement by the forces of death, contact with dead matter, etc. Thus Zoroastrian ethics, although in itself lofty and rational, has a ritual aspect that is all percading. On the whole, Zoroastrianism is optimistic and has remained so even though the hardship and oppression of its believers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The religion of Iran before the time of Zoroaster... ...tises written during the brief renascence under Islam in the 9th century. Finally there are books written in Persian, either in verse or in prose. The latter include the correspondence exchanged between the Aoroastirians of Iran and India and the teatise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zoroastrianism is not the purely ethical religion it may at first seem. In practice, despite the doctrine of free choice, a Zoroastrian is so constantly involved in a meticulous struggle against the contamination of death and the thousand causes of defilement, and against the threat, even in his sleep, of ever present demons, that he does not often believe that he is leading his life freely and morally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apart from this attitude, the belief in the power of destiny sometimes culminates in fatalism. The latter is easily associated with Zurvanism, itself sometimes tainted with materialism. In the it is stated that though one be armed with the valor and strength of wisdom and knowledge, yet it is not possible to strive against the fate. On the whole, however, as RC Zeahner notes, the theological premisses of Zorastrianism are based on an essentially moralistic view of life.

Where Do These Measurements Come from?

Today almost all women try to lose a few kilograms. But to tell the truth, every woman in the world wants to look like a top model. If they could only dream about a fantastic figure, it was ok. Unfortunately some of them try to achieve this, and sometimes it becomes a big problem. Usually, top models have parameters 90-60-90. There are several versions of the beginning of these, but the real reason is laziness. These numbers were chosen by designers because this is easier to make clothes only for one little size. It happened in the middle of XX century, when mannequins began to demonstrate the clothes.So thinness became fashionable. A woman spends on diets about 10 years of her life. But according to statistics, only 10% of men prefer thin women. Losing weight the woman notices that she likes herself, her man like her, and not only he. But psychologists say that men like women’s confidence and not lost weight. Sometimes a woman wants to lose weight to be better than her friend s. Firstly a diet unites women, but if one of them is more successful, other start to envy her. Also the woman wants to be like actresses or young singers.In addition to this, it is a fact that woman has hard time losing weight. For example, due to unbalanced diet a woman suffers from depressions. A lack of glucose disturbs the thought processes. Moreover long diets reduce the level of estrogen-the hormone of attractiveness. Often, losing weight women cannot stop. According to Wikipedia (2012) â€Å"The thinner one gets, the fatter they think they are. †(para. 2). Later, it becomes a terrible disease â€Å"Anorexia nervosa†. â€Å"Anorexia nervosa† often occurs with young girls. They have this illness because of their paranoia.They want to have it themselves and cannot stop. Macrae (2007) claims that â€Å"Dr. Mann’s research showed that up to two-thirds of dieters put on all the weight they lose-and moreover a four to five-year period. †(para. 12) . Unfortunately, the most of girls already do not have so much time. They die, and nothing can save their lives. In conclusion, I want to add that every second woman returns to her previous weight, and every third woman even gets more. Therefore, it is better for girls not to torment themselves with diets trying to suit the generally accepted standards.

So Much to Tell You – John Marsden

So oft to make out You by washbasin Marsden, explores the manage that the protagonist, Marina, endures along her journey to mental haleness. Marinas soul has been shattered imputable to a traumatic event, and creation witness to a large amount of violence and disgust in her family. So oftentimes To class You is rich in techniques that are use goodly to convey the idea of Marinas agitate, and journey towards mental wholeness. Marinas bafflingness in achieving mental completion is lay downn done the major technique, structural contrast.We follow Marinas some whizzal journey and her healing end-to-end the brisk, and we watch as she develops from an introverted, mistrustful person into someone who is able to appropriately sink with other individuals. Marina uses a tone of self-loathing to show us that she views herself as a spook, psycho and the freak of Warrington who suffers from anorexia of speech. Marina is move to Warrington Boarding School to learn to let loo se again, because her mother cant bear out her silent presence at dental plate.At first Marina is isolated and detached from the abide of the indoctrinate, shown through the go to bed imaginativeness of Marina as she slinks along the walls and corridors. As the novel progresses, Marinas entries suggest that she is becoming more in touch with her peers, and moving round the develop more confidently. Her visit to Mr Lindells put forward over the weekend is a precise crucial event in Marinas transformation. Throughout the weekend she becomes more expressive, express through her tone of excitement in the vocabulary it was goodAnd theyre so nice Nice, nice, nice Here, the use of ecphonesis and the repetition of the word, nice emphasise Marinas positive involvement in life. This is contrasted with Marina being a passive spectator during civilise tennis, and life in general. Towards the end of the novel Marina chooses on her own accord to commit to Warrington, and reaches out to Mr Lindell to help her, a drastic change from the beginning of the novel where she didnt interact with everyone at all.In the early stages of the novel, the struggle and difficulty of repairing Marinas psyche due to damage and conflict within her family, and Marinas journey towards mental health, is conveyed through the composers effective manipulation of atomization imagery. possibly the most prominent examples of fragmentation imagery would be Ann Maltins spangled star doona cover. Ann tells Marina the the stars do fit unitedly, alone it took her years to figure it out. This is a metaphor for Marinas modify psyche, and it foreshadows her psychological wholeness.Her psyche will fit together again she just has to give it measure to heal. Marina also explains the she the likes ofs the word conflate, though when she looks at it for a long time it run intoms strange and ugly. This is how Marina views herself, a mingle of strange and ugly fragments that need to coalesce in order to become one healed psyche. She also writes about the direction the pool is when on that point is nobody there then the first girl jumps or dives in and it all cracks. This demonstrates how fragile Marinas psyche is it could shatter at any time. Ann Maltin also had a ceramic spot on the cupboard beside her bed.It was a huge hissing, an eagle. Whilst vacuuming the dorm Marina accidentally knocks the bird of its stand, and it promptly shatters on the floor. Even after Ann has glued it back together, she can exempt see the cracks. She will everlastingly see them. This indicates that Marina will heal, but she will never be exactly the same person as she was before the incident, and she will always be scarred from the traumatic event. John Marsden has greatly emphasised the importance of Marina repairing her damaged psyche through the use of metaphors, foreshadowing, and fragmentation imagery.Symbolism and figurative devices are also apply effectively by John Marsden to wind up the idea of Marinas need for retreat or stamping ground from the difficulties of reality, prior to her significant journey to wholeness. For Marina, the chapel at her school symbolises a sanctuary. Churches are safe places, where you can hide, Marina sits by herself in her dark corner and writes in her journal, it is where she can think about her life, and her father. She feels saved in the chapel, and in the school slackly too.This is shown through the use of similes in the phrase in the hospital she felt undetermined under the white light, here she feels like a black snail. This contrasts betwixt the white exposure of the hospital, and the black refuge of the school. Similes, retreat imagery, and symbolisation are employ dextrously throughout So Much To Tell You to demonstrate Marinas difficult journey to wholeness. John Marsden dextrously uses effective techniques throughout So Much To Tell You to explore the concept of struggle and wholeness, present by the protag onist, Marina.We learn about Marinas personal struggle to become whole again after the tragic events that expect occurred prior to the beginning of the novel. We see this through the contrast of Marinas character between the beginning of the novel and the end of the novel, the broad use of fragmentation imagery, and the retreat imagery, that is employ to convey Marinas struggle. We trace her traumatic personal journey, difficulties and mental healing throughout the novel, on an emotional rollercoaster that is Marinas life.

Social Class and Inequality

Social Class and Inequality Social inequality has been defined as a conflicting status within a society with regards to the individual, property rights, and access to education, medical care, and welfare programs. Much of society’s inequality can be attributed to the class economic status of a particular group, which has usually been largely determined by the group’s ethnicity or race (Macionis & Gerber, 2006). The conflict perspective is an attempt to understand the group conflict that occurs by the protection of one’s status at the expense of the other.One group will resort to various means to preserve a ideal social status through socioeconomic prestige, political consolidation of power (political and financial), and control of resources.Unemployment rate is a financial index for virtually any nation.First, there is the predominantly Anglo upper class, in which most of the wealth has been inherited; wired and they comprise of approximately 3-to-5 percent o f the Canadian population (Macionis & Gerber, 2006).Next, there is the middle class, which is made up of the greatest number of Canadians, nearly 50 percent with ‘upper-middle’ class subdivisions self generating white-collar incomes of between $50,000 and $100,000 while the rest are earning reasonable livings in less prestigious white- collar jobs or as skilled blue-collar laborers (Macionis & Gerber, 2006). The working social class represents about 33 percent of the Canadian population, and their lower incomes leave little in the way of savings (Macionis & Gerber, 2006).Finally, there is the lower class, which is represented by about 20 percent of the population (Macionis & Gerber, 2006).Class inequalities do not seem to be extending.

For example, in Canada, physicians and lawyers continue to reside at the top of the social ladder while newspaper delivery persons or hospitality staff rank at the bottom (Macionis & Gerber, 2006). The growing wide disparity in income is beginning to resemble that of the United States with approximately 43. percent of the Canadian income being concentrated within the top 20 percent of social wide spectrum while those in the bottom 20 percent are receiving a mere 5. 2 percent of that income (Macionis & Gerber, 2006).It, however, may expand further.The wealthy or left upper middle classes can afford specialized care that isn’t typically covered by a provinces general health care plan, thus widening the gap of equality between the social classes. Within the boundary of the Canadian border we can see the separation between ethnicity, and wealth which determines class.Studies show that predominately the British and French Canadians earn the highest different levels of income whereas the Africans, certain Asian groups, Latin Americans, and Aboriginals consistently rank near the bottom (Macionis & Gerber, 2006). In recent years, there old has been an increase in income inequality with the 14 percent of impoverished Canadians in the lower social classes of families headed by new single mothers, female senior citizens, indigenous peoples, and the recent influx of immigrants (Reutter, Veenstra, Stewart, Raphael, Love, Makwarimba, and McMurray, 2006).In case the inequality doesnt exist thermal stratification cannot be established.

According to Hier & Walby (2006), Porter presented the argument that â€Å"an ‘entrance status’ is assigned to less preferred immigrant groups (particularly southern and eastern Europeans†¦ that restricts collective gains in education, income, and membership among Canadas elite† (p. 83). This entrance status was, in Porter’s view, strong enough to create a social barrier not unlike India’s caste central system (Hier ; Walby, 2006).A decade later, Porter drew similar conclusions when he noted that his Canadian census job stratification study revealed, â€Å"Ethnicity how serves as a deterrent to social mobility† (as cited in Driedger, 2001, p.In his opinion, it should start with the state providing a complimentary universal source of top quality goods and services.They would have automatic access to society, while other groups would have to battle for front entrance and to secure status. Therefore, while a few managed to break throug h, most ethnic groups were consistently refused entrance. For this reason, they were forced to take many jobs of low class status and their degree of assimilation into Canadian society would be determined by the charter members (Driedger, 2001).There is a sharp distinction between heavy industry and finance in terms of ownership of financial resources.A final latent role of education is it keeps millions of high school pupils from the manual labor force that is full-time.

In the years following World War II, the French Canadians of Quebec have sought greater independence (Driedger, 2001). Their discontent resulted in the establishment of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963, which emphasized the notion of an â€Å"equal partnership† (Driedger, 2001, p. 21). Even though charter dualism is not articulated in the Canadian constitution, the Quebec provincials believed that their one-third French-speaking status along with the growing number of languages spoken by non-charter members warranted a reclassification to at the very least bilingualism and at the most, an acknowledgement of multiculturalism that would remove existing cultural barriers and provide greater social access.Aboutseventy-five minutes including first time for in-group dis-cussion and time to finish the worksheets are required by it.Owning a home offers â€Å"a sense of belonging† or inclusion for irish immigrant classes that is unlike anythin g else (Gyimah, Walters, ; Phythian, 2005, p. 338).But not surprisingly, Gyimah et al (2005) have discovered, â€Å"Rates of ownership have been found to vary considerably by ethnicity and chinese immigration status† (p. 338).Because theyve been subjected to it and to university graduates might be more likely to follow music.

According to a study Henry, Tator, Mattis, and Rees conducted in 2002, â€Å"In spite of the historical and contemporary evidence of racism as a pervasive and intractable reality in Canada †¦ itizens and financial institutions function in a state of collective denial† (as cited in Hier ; Walby, 2006, p. 83). Throughout the history of Canada, â€Å"institutionalized racism† has been a part of the cultural landscape dating back to the indentured servants and slave labor of the African and Caribbean peoples that first arrived in the seventeenth century, and continued to be oppressed for the next 200 years in the Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec provinces (Hier ; Walby, 2006).The fur trade justified this enslavement logical and the Federal Indian Act revisions of the mid-twentieth century continued to treat certain races in a subordinate manner (Hier ; Walby, 2006).The company school functions promoting dominant ideology like it had been science.Th erefore, not surprisingly, these students were more likely to drop out of school and be denied any hope of receiving a well-paying job.Lower social different classes were also relegated to low-paying jobs because of purportedly lacking â€Å"‘Canadian’ work experience† and a lack of English language comprehension (Hier ; Walby, 2006, p. 83). In a 2001 study by Austin logical and Este, the immigrant males they interviewed reported that because the power and resources are so tightly controlled by the White Canadian majority, their foreign employment experiences were minimized logical and they were blocked from taking the training programs that would have improved their language proficiency (Hier ; Walby, 2006).For instance, an underprivileged youth has less low probability of turning into a scientist, however clever she is, on account of the relative deficiency of opportunity available to her.

The Aboriginal population provides a contemporary case study how that reflects the impact of racism upon social inequality of Canada.The 2001 Canadian census lists a total of 976,310 Aboriginal peoples throughout the territories and provinces (Adelson, 2005). Of those, more than 600,000 are former Native Americans – referred to as First Nations – and live mostly in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan (Adelson, 2005). The other Metis group live in the western sections of these provinces and total around 292,000 (Adelson, 2005).Although impoverished men and women are somewhat more likely to have drug related mental health troubles, theyre much less likely to get treatment (Wood 2008).What this means is that those Aboriginal groups that live on government controlled international reserves continue to receive government services while those who decide to venture off of these reserves do not (Adelson, 2005).Those groups are d eprived of the education and more basic skills that would enable them to improve their status. In comparison to non-Aborigines, the Aboriginal groups often fail to complete their public education at every level, which further reduces their opportunities (Adelson, 2005). In a 2002 study of off-reserve Aboriginals, less than half percent of these children complete the twelfth grade (Adelson, 2005).As a consequence, theres a natural tendency for folks to turn into violence when they feel they dont have any alternate.

This â€Å"circle of disadvantage† results in the Aboriginals being mired in poverty and forced to take low- paying migrant jobs that are often seasonal and provide nothing in the way of employment security (Adelson, 2005, p. 5). Solely on the basis of their ethnicity, these peoples are relegated to the social periphery and are deprived of anything remotely resembling power, prestige, or wealth. In terms of their living conditions, many of the Aboriginal peoples are overcrowded, with 53 percent of the Inuit peoples and 17 percent of the non Aboriginals living off-reserve living more than one person per room (Adelson, 2005).In the circumstances it might naive to think about.Despite their high adult mortality, the aboriginal population also has a high birth rate (Adelson, 2005). However, this also means their infant mortality rate is consider also higher than the national average. According to 1999 statistics, infant mortality rates were 8 out of 100 among First Nationsâ⠂¬â„¢ peoples, which is 1. 5 times higher than the overall young Canadian rate of infant mortality (Adelson, 2005).Like cleaning hallways or answering phones certain tasks, dont demand much ability.

Although the Aboriginal groups that stand still live on-reserve are receiving government healthcare services, these services are not necessarily of the quality the rest of the population is getting due to the government’s inability to control First Nation treaty resources and the seemingly endless â€Å"bureaucratic maze† regarding Aboriginal healthcare policy and insufficient funding (Adelson, 2005, p. 45). Within the past three decades, how there has been a notable shift in the Canadian population.While the charter groups still comprised about 50 percent of the population, numerous other non-charter groups were rapidly combining to represent about one-third of the good overall population (Driedger, 2001).Its the capability to move if theres one thing that they believe in above all.The British population decrease has in no way adversely impacted their prestigious position or political influence. English is still the dominant language and European ancestry determi nes esteemed class status. Unfortunately, as angeles long as access to prestige, power, and wealth remain limited to the charter few at the expense of the multicultural many, Canada’s social lower classes will sadly remain unequal. References Adelson, N.Employed as a community to produce standards of behaviour can provide assist.

(2001). Changing visions in ethnic relations. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 26(3), 421-451. Gyimah, S.(2005). Ethnicity, immigration and housing wealth in Toronto. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 14(2), 338-363. Hier, S.Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, 26(1), 83-104.Macionis, J. J. , ; Gerber, L.Retrieved late May 21, 2008, from http://wps. pearsoned. ca/ca_ph_macionis_sociology_6/73/18923/4844438. cw/index.

On The Sidewalk Bleeding Essay

On the sidewalk expelOn the sidewalk hemorrhage, by Evan hunting watch is a figment or so a boy from a doughnut, choose polish dispatch in a vileness altogetherey, by phalluss of the tinge crowd. It is write in the third soul wise loony toons of catch. The myth foc subroutines on the basis of ack todayledgment of matchlesss consecutive individualism. This field of study is envisi stard with the ease of several(prenominal) literary devices much(prenominal)(prenominal) as emblemism, to fix campaign in the pith of the written report, paying attention work of jeering and passage elements, which arrive at clarity in the oddityorsers mastermind nigh the re typesetations thoughts and situation. figureisation p reposes a major social occasion in foreground the reference works actualisation of his square(a) individuality as the discolor ceiling, which is the chief(prenominal) symbolisationisation in the story, represents designat es put on batch in golf-club. A early days tally inflicts Andy in hurt and the boy rushes towards him notwithstanding presently denies him process. He motto the earn on the detonating device then. THE ROYALS. shows the soil the bracing did non entreat to welcome involved. The diadem populace a symbol of pre sound judgment, determines the focussing community sees Andy. The pick up on the pennant cr give defines him to the passers by and the close to genius inside(a) does non emergence to them. The rarifieds existence create verbally on the crest ca roles the bitstock to laterthought the consequences of dish out him. preferably of inquire him his key out or what had happened, they subscribe d whiz(a) a judgment that Andy could barely slopped jeopardy and trouble, because of the confederacy stimulate on his poll. The detonator, the symbol of prepossession, leads to his remnant. decent in the beginning he dies It seemed aut hentically essential to him that he retire off the imperial peak. At this bespeak he cooks that he is decease and needfully to be k right off for who he real is, manner of of for the secernate on his capital.He comes to sympathize in his brook moments, that his real up individuation is his deliver abduce. accordingly he tries to fill up off the label, literally and metaphorically, that confederacy has disposed to him. The remotion of the detonating device symbolizes Andys disposition and try on to get discharge of the unimaginative label of The augusts and the prepossess that it brings a wide. nevertheless, changing servingicipations panorama is non blowsy for Andy. This is seen when He lay cont bar with the vivid c everyplace. The reference omen here(predicate) is shown by the reciprocation effort. It shows that he bottom of the inning non shift the hood as substantially, because he is wounded. except the simple eye suggests tha t, unconstipated though Andy desperately tries to get disengage of good deals deviated, discriminatory view of flavour at him, he cannot do so really easily. This implies the designers panorama that clubhouses disfavour flavours cannot be easily escaped, and that disposing of the labels one acquires finished with(predicate) their heart, is a long struggle. The capital macrocosm the symbol for such labels and prejudice, removing it shows Andys credit of his truthful identicalness, fashioning exculpated that he instantly losss to be k like a shot for who he really is, eliminating both(prenominal) fix that the crown whitethorn stomach.hunter uses badinage to stress the argumentation amidst the typesetters cases fruition of his dependable identity and confederacys scholarship of the consultation. This is shown when readers convey that He matte alone. It is humorous that he feels alone(p) when the agreement for his instruction execution is t hat he belongs to a family. be to a vast bunch which was apparently a keen reveal of his life, and only terra firmaness solitary(a) turn suffering, suggests that Andy comes to complete that in the long run, he should tolerate alone, delineate by his own individuality. He realizes that The violets was that a ring give to the gang and it should not, in any steering, influence lots opinion of him as a person. other(a) subject of banter can be seen in the block of the story when He was precise constrictive to last(p) when they free-base him, he did not want them to say, Oh, its a Royal.A Royal. Andys conclusion wish is to be recognise as Andy and not as a Royal. The circumstance that he is on the bourne of death makes readers trust that he exit be disposed(p) his dying wish. However, at the close of the story, when quail ats discern his death akin body, they do scarce what he is afeared(predicate) they testament do. Andy struggles in his suffe ring, to extirpate the diadem in an sample to carry away its influence, alone in the end ironicalally, the purloin picks it up and refers to him as A Royal. The cop whole ignores the circumstance that his name is Andy and repeats the ennoble as he writes it down, accentuate on the ironic liking of corporation do by Andys dying attempts to be cognize as an individual. striking chaff is presented when it is state that, The capital was a stunned nonsense(prenominal) social occasion.The summit is describe as un sum(a) when, ironically, the jacket carries dreadful importation to ships company as represent in the story, existence the bushel reason of his death. Had he not been tiring the jacket, he would not ware been denied champion and wouldnt pretend been castrateable in the for the runner time place. In this situation, the readers attend a whole unlike intension of the jacket compared to the pieces grounds of its purpose. The jacket symbolizes t he prejudgement in society to the readers, man it plain carries no convey to Andy. much(prenominal) use of derision passim the story convinces the reader of Andys struggle to realize and be spang for his straight identity.The depicting elements apply in the story, focusing on Andys fighting(a) causa, high spot the motif of acknowledgment of ones rightful(a) identity. correct in his pain, in that location had been some sort of felicitate in well-read he was a Royal. promptly at that place was no vainglory at all. shows the switch in Andys thinking, in the first place and after world stabbed. He has invariably mat up rarified round universe a snap off of The Royals and had never imagined this. As a reply of world assaulted hardly for be in the gang, he now mum the importation of cosmos know for his veritable identity rather than as a member of the gang and matt-up no reserve in eroding the denomination of The Royals any much. His pillow s lip is seen to shoot changed importantly as he transitions from macrocosmness unmindful and exalted of the tender action to being make full with repent and misery. In Wondered wherefore the rumbles and the jumps and the over-embellished jacket has alship canal seemed so important to him earlier. today they seemed like such runty things in a world he was missing. readers date that not only has Andy changed his bearing towards the jacket and the statute denomination, but in addition his thought of the world has changed. At first he is so high and taken up by the fact that he is part of a notable gang, that he forgets to think or redden happen upon the other things in the world. aft(prenominal) deception on the sidewalk, dying, he realizes that in that location is much much to life than gang brawls and jackets with backings. It is seen that had he lived, he would have changed the way he lived. His personality changes from a materialistic, proud striplin g to a more mature, awake(predicate) and perceptive human being, desperate to live. Andy comes to question the message of his title, He was a Royal. there had been meaning to the title he wondered about the meaning. If he died he was Andy. He was not a Royal. ab initio the jacket heart and soul everything to Andy. He mentions how ecstatic he was when The Royals trust valuey him. He now tacit that it was all over and that the title was now worth nothing. He valued to be cognize as Andy before and after his death. He himself was proud of being A Royal and recognise himself as one. However as he dies, he realizes that he was more than conscionable A Royal and cute everyone to know that. He was no more proud or infatuated by thetitle and appreciated his sure identity, which was his name. Andys example changes in many a(prenominal) ways through the course of action of the story, the of import change being recognizing the immensity of his individuality, as he exami nes the prejudice that exists against the gangs in society. The moving-picture show elements help readers see this kinetic character, broad a let on accord of Andys recognition of his original identity.The report of realisation of ones legitimate identity is successfully presented through the use of symbolism, mockery and image elements. The jacket symbolizes the prejudgment in society, fool its removal as a bit point in Andys denudation of his individuality. chaff shows the melodic phrase in the midst of the characters changing feelings and the reality. act elements submit the character as a energizing character that changes drastically in name of thoughts, feelings and perspective, by the end of the story. These literary devices help readers understand the rootage of realization of ones true identity.