Thomas Hobbes Prudential Oughts :: Politics Philosophy Sociology

Whensoever a man transferreth his right, or renounceth it it is either in consideration of about right reciprocally transferred to himselfe or for some other intelligent he hopeth for thereby. For it is a voluntary act and of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himselfe. (192) Proposed with the question of whether Thomas Hobbess manifesto was written of oughts constructed upon prudential, moral or ethical foundations it is the former that prevails through his writing. Hobbes spoke of man universally when describing a humans primitive state, being one in a state of nature. Without the presences of a common condition, a sovereign, preventing man from entering their imminent status of war, man would ultimately live a life that was nasty, brutish, and short. (186) For in the state of nature it is every man, against every man. (185) This being true, in absence of common power to create and enforce laws there would be no injustice. (188) Therefore the accepted rules of conduct to follow, principles of ethics and our interpretation of morality would not exist. The principals of Good & Evil would be subjective, left to the interpretation of each person. According to Hobbes the catalyst for the process of an absolute power would not be because it is right & just to keep war at bay, but because man has an intrinsic desire to live. Man fueled by his own self interests and capable of reason will see an absolute power, (as every man is naturally equal), as the only representation to preserve himself. For it is the general rule of reason, that every man ought to endeavour peace (190) It is in mans self-interest to follow the laws of nature and to willingly give up all of his rights in order to secure his or her safety & preserve his or hers way of life, as long as all others do the same. It is in all reasonable mens self interest to crack upon these laws but, if other men will not do the same it would be to expose himself to preyrather than to dispose himself to peace. (190) This would directly contradict mans general rule of reason.This is the primary prudential ought for which his writing is justified. Hobbess concept of what is ethical & moral are solely dependant upon the laws set forth by the sovereign.

Eva Peron Essay -- essays research papers

Maria Eva Duarte was born on May 7, 1919 in Los Toldos Argentina. She was the youngest illegitimate child of Juan Duarte and his mistress Juana Ibarguen. Eva had a laborious childhood, her father had his own wife and children, and he gave Juanas Ibarguen children his last name and would visit them once in a while. When Eva was seven her father died living them in real poor conditions, all the family, her mother and the five children lived in a tiny one room and in order to pay the rent and view as something to eat Evas mother her sisters and herself had to work as cooks for a exuberant and powerful family in Los Toldos. It was then that Eva got her fist close behavior at the very wealthy families who controlled Argentina. Eva would recall her childhood in her book "La Razon de MI Vida& adenylic acidquot *&quotI remember I was very sad for many years when I discovered that in the world there were poor tribe and rich people and the strange thing was that the worldly con cern of the poor did not cause me as much pain as the knowledge that at the same time there mere people who were rich&quot. This was maybe one of the first times that Eva felt the injustice of the world, that she felt that there had something to be done for those who did not have fair to middling to eat.In 1930 Juana Ibarguen decide to leave Los Toldos and left to Junin with all her family seeking for a better fortune. Evita had this dream of someday becoming an actress and she believed in herself saying that she indeed has vocation. She participated in some recitals and plays from school. By 1935 Eva had made up her mind of becoming a great actress. Just after her fifteen birthday Eva met a tango singer Agustin Magaldi, who had come to Junin to give some presentations. Eva seeking her dream left with him to Buenos Aires. When she left to Buenos Aires, these were times of misery, unemployment and hunger in the country of Argentina. It was hard for her at the beginning Evita woul d fight for ten years leaving on a very low income. She would get some small parts on radio she was working in Belgrano Radio, and also some insignificant parts in theater. After ten years her luck started to change, she would climb her way up getting roles that made people start to recognize her as an actress she also had some roles in a few movies.On January 15, 1944 an earthquake almost destroyed the city of San Juan, thous... ...nd her children as she called them, she would get along this children a s her very own maybe because of the fact that she had not been able to have any. It was very impressive the way the people reacted, Argentina wept for days the great loss, thousands of people would stay in lines just to get a glance at her, and they would morn for her. Even Juan Peron was impressed and he would recall, I did not know they loved her this muchThe people would ask the pope to convert Evita into a saint, this never happened, but to many tha was what she was a saint and that was what they called her Santa Evita. Her body was embalssamed and was empower on a display in December of 1974, in 1976 her body was returned to her family to be placed in a vault in Buenos Aires.BIOGRAPHY-EVA PERON&quot Nicholas Fraser. W.W. Norton &amp Co. N.Y. 1984-&quotEVITA FIRST LADY&quot John Barnes. Grove Press, inc. N.Y. 1978-&quotTHE WOMAN WITH THE WHIP&quot Maria Flores. Doubleday and Co. N.Y 1952.-&quotEVA PERON, THE MYTHS OF A WOMAN&quot J.M. Taylor. The University of Chicago Press. 1979-THE PERON ERA&quot Robert J. Alexander. Rusell &amp Rusell INC. 1965

The Human Genome Project Essay -- Science Scientific Research Papers

The Human Genome ProjectIntroduction The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a plan to develop a detailed genetic and physical map of the human genome. As a result of this project, it is predicted that vast increases in technology and biological approaches to the molecular world provide occur. It was speculated that this project would take two decades. Some scientist did not even think it could be done because the technology was not ready for this kind of project. Multiple issues maintain arisen since the original concept for this genome project was introduced. Never before had mankind faced such issues in one project. These issues include such topics as biotechnology, ethical dilemmas, affable and individual implications, health and medical care, and scientific research. When the project was started in 1990, technology could only sequence 300 base pairs at a time. This made mathematical function (location of genes) and sequencing (the number and pattern of letters) of the entire 3 bil lion base pairs seems like an insurmountable task (Collins & Jegalian, 1999). Limited technology drew critics of the project with surmise that a complete map could be accomplished. Development of technology proved to be the least controversial issue. Ethical issues often became the center of concern. Also, the fear of attempting to dead ringer a genetically superior race became a key issue. Many of the other issues stemmed from ethical concerns. Health and medical care implications could have a profound effect on society and individuals through prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of genetic diseases. Thanks to the HGP things like insight into basic biology, development of new technology, and medicine may be increased drastically. History The official start of t... ...Human Genome Project where did it come from, where is it going? American Journal of Human Genetics, 51, 1-6. - Spengler, S. (1997). Emerging technologies from the Human Genome Project for judgement susceptibil ity and risk. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 4, 235-238 - van Ommen, G., Bakker, E., & den Dunnen, J. (1999). The human genome project and the future of diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. The Lancet, 354 (suppl 1), 5-10. - Young, D. & Leonard, D. (1999). Issues in genetic testing. Clinical Chemistry, 45(6), 915-926. Websites - http//www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/genome/ - http//www.celera.com/ - http//www.nih.gov/ - http//www.nhgri.nih.gov/NEWS/about_HGP.html - http//www.nhgri.nih.gov/HGP/ - http//www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/home.html - http//www.sciencemag.org

Virginia Woolf - Moving Beyond a Convoluted Memory of Her Parents Essay

Virginia Woolf - Moving Beyond a Convoluted Memory of Her ParentsWhy would I start with Julia Duckworth Stephen to get to Virginia Woolf? One answer is Virginias often quoted statement that we think back through our mothers if we are women (Woolf, A inhabit of Ones Own). Feminism is rooted not just in a response to patriarchy but also in the history of females and their treatment of each other. instigate of feminism is a reevaluation of the value of motherhood.But what does Virginias mother have to do with Virginias writing? I chose to look at the problem of hereditary pattern by starting with Julias first influences on Virginia, particularly her stories for children. I then move on to portraits of mothers in Virginias novels. This essay is not only closely Virginias task of overcoming the Angel in the House but moving past a confrontational and convoluted memory of a mother, into an orderly, whole escort of females working together.In talking about Virginia Woolf in the context of Julia Duckworth Stephen and feminism, I will start from the beginning of Virginia Stephens life. The idea of Mother is a basic, recognisable concept in probably even the most primitive human cultures. Infants start separation of self and other with the body of Mother, since an infant gains a sensation of continuity of being from his or her mothers attention. (Rosenman 12) From this definition of relationship-as-self, an infant finds her existence confirmed by feedback from her mother. In this manner, Julia is the first contact for Virginia with the rest of the world, and with altogether of womankind. Since Virginia will go on to have most of her important relationships with women, this is an important connection.What kind of connection was it? V... ...pie and Steele, ed. Julia Duckworth Stephen. Syracuse University Press. bracing York, 1987.Ingram, Heather, ed. Womens Fiction Between the Wars. Virginia Woolf Retrieving the Mother. St. Martins Press. New York, 1998.Johnsen, W illiam. Finding the FatherVirginia Woolf, Modernism, and Feminism. February 28, 2003. http//www.msu.edu/course/eng/492h/johnsen/CH6.htm April 16, 2003.Lee, Hermione. Virginia Woolf. Vintage Books. New York, 1996. Rosenmann, Ellen Bayuk. The Invisible Presence Virginia Woolf and the Mother-Daughter Relationship. Louisiana State University Press. Baton Rouge, 1986.Woolf, Virginia. Jacobs Room. Penguin. London, 1992.Mrs. Dalloway. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981. To The Lighthouse. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981.A Room of Ones Own. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981.The Waves. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981.

the title of Vijay Tendulkars SILENCE THE COURT IS IN SESSION :: essays research papers

SILENCE THE COURT IS IN SESSION1) TITLE- The original title of the play is SHANTATA COURT CHALU AHE. The words of the title are in truth common in law courts where the honourable judges aver the words to bring back order and decorum if the parties concerned or the mob render in the court become unruly or create chaos and commotion. In other words the very words SILENCE THE COURT IS IN SESSION indicate the absolute authority of the judge in the court room to decide upon the manners of others. The judge has also the final authority to pronounce contempt of court in case of breach of discipline. In a civilized society the court schema is in vogue for the sake of justice. The judiciary is considered to be one of the four main pillars of democracy.In the present play Vijay Tendulkar chooses a term of judicial register as the title of his play to adopt a powerful comment on a society with a heavy patriarchal bias that makes justice impossible and that converts the august judicial sys tem into an instrument of oppression of women and the vulnerable. Ideally justice can be provided only if the judge and the judicial system are target arealy detached. But the same objective detachment can become the face of a very repressive and dehumanized system if the persons involved in the process of justice are themselves gratuitous of human value and compassion.In the present play we find how Benare becomes the victim of sadism of his male counterparts. The audience is do to witness a mere enactment of what is a rehearsal of sorts of a mock-trial to be staged later in the day. But what begins as a harmless game begins to assume a grim position before long.At first all the characters vie to be the accused in the mock-trial. Then, on Sukhatmes suggestion they decide to make Benare the accused. It is notable that Benare is assign the role of accused in her absence. As soon as Benare enters the room singing, and wiping her face on the towel, she is caught unaware by Ponkshe, Miss Leela Benare , you have been arrested on suspiciousness of a crime of an extremely grave nature, and brought as a prisoner before the bar of this court. Kashikar, assuming the role of the judge accuses Benare of the crime of infanticide. The way Benare is made the accused without her consent shows the functioning of the patriarchal system.

Les Miserables :: essays research papers

Les Miserables known in English as The Terrible is a musical portrayal of the French Revolution. It is a musical tragedy, which served as a major powerhouse competitor for Andrew Lloyd weber musicals in the early eighties and nineties. When first of all debuting on Broadway in 1987 it traveled a long hard road to compete with musicals of the decade. However, in time some(prenominal) well-known performers were proud to associate themselves with this wonderful work of art.The musical play begins with its lead char playacter named dungargone Valjean. Jean Valjean was released on parole after 19 years on the chain gang. In this initial scene the audience can almost straightway feel the tonality of the play with the constant cite to the number 24601. 24601 were the prison number that became Jean Valjeans identity for 19 years. The dark and dreary atmospheric state set the tone for the first song of the libretto, meet Down. The lyrics to look down coincide with the chain gang, ov erseen by brutal wanders, working in the hot sun. It is this serial of songs in Act one that take the audience by dint of many turns of feelings and emotions. These emotional songs are used to portray poor men and women working in low class factories, women selling their bodies and more significantly a class of people struggling to scrape by. The most vivid songs used to identify the heterogeneous themes of poverty and prostitution are Lovely Ladies, A Heart Full of Love, and Master of The House. Moreover, it is a song titled Do You Hear the People interpret? That prepares the audience for the ending of Act one. Most if non all of Act one uses song, tonality, character, pitch and tone to depict the various themes of the play while the romance is beginning to unravel.Throughout the second and final act the musical content within the play acts as a story of its own through theme and variation. Each separate song represents a feeling and or mood and is enhanced as it is varied th roughout the act. Like the first act, the songs are used to portray poverty, suffering, hardships, and even death. However, unlike the first act, there is also a theme of love and happiness. Closure is brought about with a sense of fancy and this is often heard through the display of the tempo. When the measure were tough the tempo decreased and was often slow and morbid like.Les Miserables essays research papers Les Miserables known in English as The Terrible is a musical portrayal of the French Revolution. It is a musical tragedy, which served as a major powerhouse competitor for Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals in the early eighties and nineties. When first debuting on Broadway in 1987 it traveled a long hard road to compete with musicals of the decade. However, in time many well-known performers were proud to associate themselves with this wonderful work of art.The musical play begins with its lead character named Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean was released on parole after 19 years on the chain gang. In this initial scene the audience can almost immediately feel the tonality of the play with the constant reference to the number 24601. 24601 were the prison number that became Jean Valjeans identity for 19 years. The dark and dreary ambiance set the tone for the first song of the libretto, Look Down. The lyrics to look down coincide with the chain gang, overseen by brutal wanders, working in the hot sun. It is this series of songs in Act one that take the audience through many turns of feelings and emotions. These emotional songs are used to portray poor men and women working in low class factories, women selling their bodies and more importantly a class of people struggling to scrape by. The most vivid songs used to identify the various themes of poverty and prostitution are Lovely Ladies, A Heart Full of Love, and Master of The House. Moreover, it is a song titled Do You Hear the People Sing? That prepares the audience for the ending of Act one. Most if not al l of Act one uses song, tonality, character, pitch and tone to depict the various themes of the play while the story is beginning to unravel.Throughout the second and final act the musical content within the play acts as a story of its own through theme and variation. Each separate song represents a feeling and or mood and is enhanced as it is varied throughout the act. Like the first act, the songs are used to portray poverty, suffering, hardships, and even death. However, unlike the first act, there is also a theme of love and happiness. Closure is brought about with a sense of warmth and this is often heard through the display of the tempo. When the times were tough the tempo decreased and was often slow and morbid like.

Case Study of Starbucks

When the announcement was make in mid 2008 that Starbucks would be closing nearly three-quarters of its 84 Australian put ins there was composite re do workion. rough great deal were shocked, another(prenominal)s were triumphant. Journalists used e real pun in the book to create a sensational headline, and it seemed everyone had a theory as to what went wrong. This case discoverlines the astounding sprainth and expansion of the Starbucks steel worldwide, including to Australia. It then shifts focus to describe the extent of the fund closures in Australia, before twisting several reasons for the disaster and lessons that others cleverness reveal from the case. . Background Founded in 1971, Starbucks firstborn store was in Seattles Pike Place Market. By the time it went public in 1992, it had 140 stores and was expanding at a unsafe railyard, with a growing store count of an extra 40-60% a course of instruction. Whilst former CEO Jim Donald claimed that we dont want to take over the world, during the 1990s and early 2000s, Starbucks were initiation on modal(a) at least one store a day (Palmer, 2008). In 2008 it was claimed to be straight-from-the-shouldering seven stores a day worldwide.Not surprisingly, Starbucks is outright the whoppingst burnt umber berry chain operator in the world, with more than 15,000 stores in 44 countries, and in 2007, accounted for 39% of the worlds total specialist deep brown house sales (Euromonitor, 2008a). In North America alone, it serves 50 million people a week, and is now an indelible part of the urban landscape. But just how did Starbucks become much(prenominal) a phenomenon? Firstly, it boomingly Americanised the European coffee tree tradition nighthing no other coffee house had done previously. to begin with Starbucks, coffee in its current form (latte, frappacino, mocha, etc. ) was unknown quantity to roughly US consumers. Secondly, Starbucks did non just transport coffee it sold an get a line. As founding CEO Howard Schultz explained, We ar not in the coffee traffic serving people, were in the people business serving coffee (Schultz and Yang, 1997). This epitomised the emphasis on guest good such as making eye nexus and greeting for each one customer within 5 seconds, cleaning tables promptly and remembering the names of regular customers.From inception, Starbucks purpose was to reinvent a commodity with a find of romance, atmosphere, sophistication and sense of community (Schultz and Yang, 1997). Next, Starbucks created a third place in peoples lives somewhere between home and work where they could sit and relax. This was a novelty in the US where in umteen small towns cafe burnish consisted of filter coffee on a hot plate. In this way, Starbucks positioned itself to not nevertheless sell coffee, but alike allow for an experience. It was conceived as a lifestyle cafe.The establishment of the cafe as a social hub, with comfortable chairs and music ha s been just as important a part of the Starbucks tick as its coffee. All this came with a premium expense. While people were aw be that the beverages at Starbucks were more expensive than at m whatever cafes, they still frequented the outlets as it was a place to see and be seen. In this way, the brand was widely accepted and became, to an extent, a symbol of status, and everyones must- guide accessory on their way to work.So, not only did Starbucks revolutionise how Americans drank coffee, it in any case revolutionised how much people were prepared to pay. Consistency of product across stores, and even national boundaries, has been a hallmark of Starbucks. Like McDonalds, Starbucks claims that a customer should be able to visit a store anywhere in the world and buy a coffee but to specification. This sentiment is echoed by Mark Ring, CEO of Starbucks Australia who stated consistency is really important to our customers a consistency in the product . . . he overall experience when you walk into a cafe . . . the music . . . the lighting . . . the furniture . . . the person who is working the bar. So, whilst there might be slight dissimilaritys between Starbucks in unalike countries, they all generally look the aforementioned(prenominal) and offer the same product assortment. One way this is ensured is by insisting that all managers and partners (employees) undergo 13 weeks of training not just to learn how to ingest a coffee, but to understand the nuances of the Starbucks brand (Karolefski, 2002) and how to deliver on its promise of a service experience.The Starbucks convention overly dep residuals on location and convenience. Starbucks yield worked under the assumption that people are not tone ending to visit unless its convenient, and it is this assumption that underlies their highly concentrated store coverage in umteen cities. Typically, clusters of outlets are opened, which has the effect of saturating a neighbourhood with the Starbucks br and. Interestingly, until recently, they bring not engaged in traditional advertising, believing their large store front and word-ofmouth to be all the advertising and promotion they call for.Starbucks management believed that a distinctive and memorable brand, a product that made people feel good and an pleasurable delivery channel would create repeat business and customer loyalty. Faced with near-saturation conditions in the US by 2007 it commanded 62% of the specialist coffee computer memory trade in North America (Table 1 ) the lodge has increasingly looked overseas for growth opportunities.As part of this strategy, Starbucks opened its first Australian store in Sydney in 2000, before expanding elsewhere within New South Wales and then nationwide (albeit with 90% of stores concentrated in just three states NSW, Victoria and Queensland). By the end of 2007 Starbucks had 87 stores, enabling it to control 7% of the specialist coffee shop market in Australasia (Table 1 ). By 2008, consumer awareness of Starbucks in Australia was 90% (Shoebridge, 2008), with each outlet selling, on average, double the number of coffees (270 a day) than the rest of Australias coffee shops (Lindhe, 2008). . Expansion into Asia Starbucks currently operates in 44 markets and even has a small front line in Paris birthplace and stronghold of European cafe husbandry. Beyond North America, it has a very momentous share of the specialist coffee shop market in Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America (Table 1) and these regions fix strong revenue contributions (Table 2). It is in Asia that they see the most potential for growth as they face increasing competitive pressure level in their more traditional markets.Half the international stores Starbucks plans to operate in the next decade impart be in Asia (Euromonitor, 2006 Browning, 2008). Indeed, Starbucks has done well in international markets where there has not traditionally been a coffee drinking culture, namel y Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and mainland China. In effect it has been responsible for growing the category in these markets. The first Starbucks outside the US opened in Tokyo in 1996, and since then, Starbucks Japanese stores have become twice as bankable as the US stores.Unsurprisingly then, Japan is Starbucks best performing overseas market outside North America. More than 100 newfound stores open each year in Japan, and coffee is now more popular than tea in terms of both volume and value (Lee, 2003 see also Uncles, 2008). As unlike to their entry into the Australian market, Starbucks made small changes to its formula for the Japanese market for example, the invention of a green tea frappucino, and the provision of smaller drinks and pastries to conform to topical anesthetic tastes.Starbucks arrived in China in 1998 and by 2002 had 50 outlets, and 165 outlets by 2006 (BBC News, 2006), quickly becoming the nations leading coffee chain. Starbucks now sees China as its lynchp in growth market due to the size and preferences of the emerging middle class. In the Asia-Pacific region, Starbucks command of the specialist coffee shop market grew from 15% in 2002 to 19% in 2007 (refer to Table 2). The total market for cafes in China grew by over 135% between 1999 and 2004 to reach US$2. 6 gazillion.It is projected to grow another 144% by 2008 to reach US$6. 4 billion in sales. More specialty coffee shops are opening across China as a middle class with strong purchasing power emerges, although this rise in coffee consumption is highly concentrated in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Starbucks has said that it expects China to become its biggest market after the US and the plan is to open 100 stores a year (Euromonitor, 2006). Significantly, accepted Western brands are valued by Chinese consumers and Starbucks appears to be one of them.A growing number of Chinas 500 million urbanites favour Starbucks for its ambience, which is seen as an im portant preindication of service quality, and Starbucks design concept rests easily with Chinas consumers, who tend to bum with friends while sipping coffee. Its outlets in China frequently maintain larger seating areas than average outlets in other countries, and plush chairs and davenports are provided to accommodate crowds that linger. However, success for Starbucks in China is not a given, and they will face several challenges in the coming years.Chinas summation to the WTO has led to the gradual relaxation of the policy governing foreign-owned retail outlets, and this will lead to more foreign investment and thereby competition (Lee, 2004). Several multinationals are engaged in selling coffee (including KFC, McDonalds, Yoshinoya, and Manabe), and a number of topical anesthetic brands have recently emerged, some even imitating Starbucks distinctive green and white logo and its in-store ambience (notably Xingbake in Shanghai). Furthermore, the reduction of import tariffs on c offee will also encourage foreign investment in coffee. . The Australian retail coffee industry Australias taste for coffee is a by-product of the waves of immigrants arriving on the countrys shores following World War II. European migrants, predominantly Greeks and Italians, were the first to establish the coffee culture, which was subsequently embraced more widely in the 1 980s. For decades Australians enjoyed a variation of the lifestyle coffee experience that Starbucks created from scratch in the US. Australians did not deal to be introduced to the concept of coffee as many other countries did.Savouring a morning instill of coffee was already a ritual for many consumers. It is fair to describe Australias coffee culture as mature and sophisticated, so when Starbucks entered Australia in 2000, a thriving urban cafe culture was already in place. This established culture saw Australians typically patronise smaller boutique style coffee shops, with people willing to travel out of their way for a favoured cup of coffee, especially in Melbourne where coffee has developed an almost cult-like following.For Australians, coffee is as much astir(predicate) relationships as it is nearly the product, suggesting that an impersonal, planetary chain experience would have trouble replicating the intimacy, personalisation and familiarity of a suburban boutique cafe. Furthermore, through years of coffee drinking, many Australians, unlike American or Asian consumers, have developed a sophisticated palate, enjoying their coffee straighter and stronger, and without the want to disguise the taste with flavoured, syrupy shots. This love of coffee is easily quantified. The Australian market is worth $3 billion, of which $1. billion relates to the coffee retailing market. For every cup of coffee consumed out of home, ii cups are consumed at home (AustraIAsian Specialty Coffee Association, 2006). Per capita consumption is now estimated at 2. 3 kg-twice as much as 30 years ag o. Whilst Australians are among the highest consumers of instant coffee in the world, they are increasingly purchasing coffee out of the home (Euromonitor, 2008c). More than 1 billion cups of coffee are consumed in cafes, restaurants and other outlets each year, representing an increase of 65% over the last 10 years.Even between 2000 and 2005, trade sales of coffee have increased about 18%. In 2007, the growth in popularity of the cafe culture resulted in trade volume sales growing at an yearbook rate of 5%. Some 31% of the coffee sold through foodservice is takeaway, and it is thought that fast coffee will be a growth area in future years (Euromonitor, 2008d). There is also a trend towards larger takeaway sizes, with 400 ml cups increasing in popularity (Euromonitor, 2008d). One might moot that Starbucks drove these trends, especially in regards to larger sizes.There are almost 14,000 cafes and restaurants serving a variety of coffee types in Australia, and during 2006/07, they generated $9. 7 billion in income (Australian breast of Statistics, 2008). However, despite these statistics, the coffee business does not guarantee success. As Paul Irvine, co-founder of Gloria Jeans notes, Australia is a unsound retail market and coffee retailing is particularly tough. According to official statistics, the cafe business is not always profitable, with the net profitability of cafes falling to about 4%.For a cafe to be successful, it has to offer marginally better coffee than local competitors, and do so consistently. Coffee drinkers in Australia are discerning, and they will go out of their way to purchase a good cup of coffee. They are not as easily persuaded as people from other countries only to visit their nearest cafe. Secondly, for a cafe to make a profit, it needs to turn over 15 kg of coffee a week The national average is 11 kg, so a cafe has to be above average to begin with to even make a profit. Any newcomer needs to understand this before entering th e market.The other significant constraint on profitability is the approach of hiring baristas, with a good one costing between $1000 and $1500 a week (Charles, 2007). However, it seems that this is a necessary cost in order to deliver a superior product. The question that then begs to be asked is How well did Starbucks understand this existing coffee culture? Did they under-estimate the relational outlook of coffee purchasing in Australia, as well as the importance of the quality of ingrethents and the skills of the person making each cup?Did they overestimate the value consumers tie down to the in-store experience and the third place concept? Or did they just look at the statistics regarding coffee consumption and signify that operating in Australia was a license to instill money? Did they simply see Australia as the next logical step to global domination? Starbucks has 87% of the US specialty coffee shop market, and only now is it beginning to feel pressure from non-tradition al competitors such as Dunkin Donut, 7 Eleven, McCafe and Krispy Kreme (Burritt, 2007).However, in Australia, the competitive landscape is different. Gloria Jeans dominates the high-street part of the coffee retailing market and McCafe dominates the convenience end (Shoebridge, 2008). Other significant competitors include The Coffee nine and Wild Bean Cafe (an add-on to BP petrol stations) and Hudsons Coffee (see Table 3). All offer a similar in-store experience to Starbucks, with McCafe from 2007 onwards refurbishing many McDonalds stores to imitate the Starbucks experience, albeit at the economy end of the market. 5. Growth grinds to a halt . . . store closuresIn recent clock however things have started to go wrong for Starbucks. Internationally, company earnings declined as cashstrapped consumers faced record petrol bells and rising interest rates meaning they have had to pull back on gourmet coffee and other luxuries. Sales fell 50% in the last 2 years, the US share expense fell more than 40% over the past year and profits dropped 28% (Bawden, 2008 Coleman-Lochner and Stanford, 2008 Mintz, 2008). Consequently, Howard Schultz, the founder and chairman of Starbucks, resumed the position of CEO in 2008 with the aim of revitalising the business.He slowed the pace at which stores were opened (and in accompaniment closed more stores than he will open in the coming year), introduced key performance targets (KPTs) and an employee rewards carcass in the US, and simultaneously shut down every store in America for three and a half hours of staff training (Muthukumar and Jain, 2008). Customer-oriented initiatives have include the addition of more food, the launch of the Starbucks card and Starbucks express, and the provision of high-speed wi-fi internet access (Hota, 2008).Notably, Schultz acknowledges that the companys focus has been more on expansion than on customer service the very thing that was at the heart of its unparalleled value proposition. However , it seems that these measures were too late for the Australian operation. On 29th July 2008, Starbucks announced that it would be closing 61 of its 84 Australian stores (i. e. , 73%) by August 2008, resulting in a loss of 685 jobs. All of these stores had been under-performing (8 were in SA, ACT and Tasmania, 28 in NSW, 17 in Victoria and 8 in Queensland).This decline of Starbucks in Australia was not as sudden as many would have us believe and in fact some reports (Edwards and Sainsbury, 2008 Shoebridge, 2008) indicated that by late 2007 Starbucks already had * accumulated losses of $143 million * a loss of $36 million for that financial year * lost $27. 6 million the previous financial year * loans of $72. 3 million from Starbucks in the US * was only surviving because of its US parents support. These closures saw 23 stores kept open in prime locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But this begs the question can a 23-store chain be viable for the brand in the long-term?Based on the approximate song in Table 3, Starbucks had a 6% share of stores in Australia before the closures this has now fallen to a share below 2%. Even before the closures, Australasia represented only 1% of company sales (Table 2) and now the figure is expected to be much lower. This may not make much commercial sense as it will be difficult to achieve economies of scale in terms of marketing and purchasing, and such small numbers are totally out of step with the clustering strategy adopted in its strongest markets -the US, Japan and China.However, it could also be argued that with Starbucks strategy of global domination, it is unlikely that it will ever close its Australian business entirely. Whilst Starbucks management have been keen to suggest that this decision represents business challenges unique to the Australian market and in no way reflects the state of the Starbucks business in countries outside of the United States, the US market has also suffered. By September 2008, 60 0 stores had closed (or were due for closure), with about 12,000 workers, or 7% of Starbucks global workforce affected (Mintz, 2008).It should be renowned that the situation in the US has only worsened as a result of the global financial crisis. 6. So what went wrong? Opinions abound as to why Starbucks failed in Australia. Our research suggests there is some truth to many of these opinions. Whilst the troubled economy might seem an easy scapegoat, with people tightening their belts and eating out less, it is unlikely that this was the core problem as proved by the continuing growth of their competitors. Indeed, coffee is no longer considered a luxury item by many Australians, but rather an affordable part of their daily routine.Instead, there is substantial evidence to suggest a number of factors combine to bring about Starbucks demise. 6. 1. Starbucks overestimated their points of differentiation and customer perceived value of their supplementary services I just think the whol e system, the way they serve, just didnt appeal to the culture we have here Andrew Mackay, VP of the Australian Coffee Traders Association, in Martin (2008) Whilst there was initial curiosity and hype about Starbucks, after trying it, many Australians quickly found that it failed to offer a particularly unique experience that was not offered by other chain or cafes.Given the strong established coffee culture and discerning palates of Australians, the core product coffee was not seen as particularly different from, say, a latte or short black from a good suburban barista, Gloria Jeans or Coffee Club. Its point of difference in Australia, where a coffee culture already existed, had to be in its supplementary or value-adding services i. e. , its unique servicescape, engaging customer service, brand image and so on (Lovelock et al. , 2007).But was this worth a premium price, especially as the competition began replicating Starbucks in-store experience? Starbucks has since been harsh ly criticised by Australian consumers and the media. Their coffee has been variously described as a watered down product, gimmicky, and consisting of buckets of milk. These are not the labels you would choose to describe a coffee that aspires to be seen as a gourmet product. It has also been criticised for its uncompetitive pricing, even being described as one of the most over-priced products the world has ever seen (Martin, 2008).Even the idea of the third place has come under criticism why would you want to sit around a pretend lounge room drinking a weak and expensive coffee when you can go around the corner and have the real thing? (Wailes, 2008). It seems that Starbucks rapid expansion, its omnipresence, evenhandedly standardised store design and recent insistence on staff achieving various sales KPTs (key performance targets) such as serving x customers per hour, all combined to diminish the instore experience. The introduction of sales targets for front-line employees, for example, meant staff and baristas had less time to engage with customers.It began to stray too far from its roots and the very values upon which the brand was built. Some of these actions were forced upon Starbucks by emerging competitors seeking to imitate the brand, and thus gain a slice of the ever growing lifestyle coffee market. Starbucks points of differentiation were consistently being eroded and, in a sense, the brand that taught the world that coffee is not a commodity was itself becoming one. 6. 2. Declining service quality The brand has also come under fire for declining customer service as it continued to expand.For example, the quality of baristas is said to have declined as Starbucks widened its pool of applicants in order to equate demand at new stores. Can a 17 year old high school student really compete with a boutique trained barista with a passion for coffee? By not offering a better experience and product than emerging direct competitors, Starbucks found itself undermined by countless high street cafes and other chains that were selling stronger brews at lower prices and often offering better or equal hospitality.Whilst they may have pioneered the idea of a third place, it was an easy idea to copy, and even easier to better by offering superior coffee, ambience and service. Now, with so many coffee chains around, Starbucks have little point of differentiation, even wi-fi internet access has become commonplace across all types of cafe. Furthermore, while customers were offered promotional rewards for returning to Starbucks, the card-based scheme is no more sophisticated than equivalent me-too cards at Gloria Jeans, Coffee Club, Hudsons and many independent cafes.And as noted earlier, one of the things that set Starbucks apart from the competition i. e. , acknowledging customers (often by name for regulars) within a few seconds of entering the store and seriously engaging with them, began to unravel when Starbucks trimd both customer serv ice and sales targets for its cafes. The delusion of these targets plus an ever widening range and complexity of coffees to remember and make to perfection, meant staff morale and inevitably customer service levels declined. In fact in the USA some staff were so disillusioned with the imposition of sales targets because it meant they simply didnt have time to engage with customers) they posted blogs openly stating that Starbucks had lost its way. Finally, it appears that Starbucks were not even delivering on their core promise of serving superior coffee in comfortable surroundings, thus justifying its premium price. By switching to vacuum box coffee, consumers are denied the store-filling aroma of the coffee beans. The switching of traditional coffee machines to automated espresso machines (which can make coffees 40% faster and move customers through the lines more quickly), has also resulted in a loss of theatre (Grove et al. 2000) for people wanting to see their coffee made that way and has also had implications for taste. In-store, it has been noted that there are fewer well-situated chairs and less carpeting, and Starbucks recently lost ground in the service and surroundings category of the Brand secernates 2007 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (Cebrzynski, 2008). It seems that Starbucks is now less about the quality of the coffee, and is more about the convenience of faster service and being on every corner whilst still charging a premium. 6. 3. Starbucks ignored some well-situated rules of international marketingIronically, it seems that the very thing that made Starbucks successful in the first place, its ability to adjust the original (European) business lay and coffee tradition to local (US) conditions, is the thing that let it down. Whilst Starbucks has made minor changes to its menu in countries such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, it generally offers the same products all around the world. When the company came to Australia, it brought its Americ an offering, simply bringing what worked in the US and applying it here, without really understanding the local market.But with more than 235 ethnicities speaking more than 270 languages and dialects, companies wanting to get ahead in Australia need to be aware that they are not dealing with one homogeneous market. Unfortunately what worked in the US was bitter, weak coffee augmented by grand quantities of milk and sweet flavoured syrups. Not so much coffee, as hot coffee-based smoothies. For the Australian consumer raised on a diet of real espresso, this was always going to be a tough sell (Mescall, 2008) As McDonalds Australia chief executive Peter Bush noted, US retailers that have had trouble making it work in Australia (e. . , Starbucks, Dennys, Arbys, Taco Bell) are those that have introduced formulae developed for US palates and for the US way of doing business . . . These formulae have, at best, modest relevance in Australia. Peter Irvine, co-founder of Gloria Jeans, also n oted that US retailers often arrive in Australia thinking the size of their overseas chains and the strength of their brands in other markets will make it easy for them to disruption the local market. Their focus is on global domination rather than the needs of the local consumers.Further, there is a strong sense in Australia of buying local, reenforcement the community, having relationships with the people you buy from, and supporting ethically-minded businesses. Starbucks clashed completely with that, whereas local stores can differentiate themselves as being local and non-corporate. Furthermore, some would argue that Starbucks has become a imposture of the American way of life and many Australians reject that iconography. Many are simply not interested in the super-size culture of the extra-large cups, nor want to be associated with a product that is constantly in the hands of movie stars. 6. 4.Expanding too quickly and forcing themselves upon an unwilling public In the US, St arbucks started in Seattle as a single store. In a nation bereft of a genuine cafe culture, that single store captured peoples imagination, and soon became a second store, quickly followed by a third. Before long, Starbucks had become a demand-driven phenomenon, with everyone wanting a Starbucks in their local area. McDonalds grew exactly the same way in Australia, opening just one or two stores in each city nowhere near enough to meet demand thus creating an almost artificial scarcity, which created huge buzz around the brand experience.Krispy Kreme did the same. But when Starbucks opened in Australia, they immediately tried to impose themselves with multiple store openings in every city adopting the US-model of expansion through store clusters. Australians were not given a chance to discover it. As Mescali (2008) points out they took key sites, hung huge signs, made us order coffee in sizes and gave the coffees weird names. Starbucks said to us thats not how you drink coffee. This is how you drink coffee.They took the Coca-Cola strategy of being available wherever people looked, but this quickly led to market saturation. Their expansion did not excruciation their competitors so much as themselves, and they found themselves cannibalising their own stores. Furthermore, by becoming too common, the company violated the economic principles of cultural scarcity and the novelty wore off. By having too many outlets, becoming too commercial and too widely used, it began to lose its initial appeal of status and exclusivity. It began to have a mass brand feel, certainly not the warm feeling of a neighbourhood cafe.Furthermore, they became more reliant on less affluent consumers who now, with a worsening economy, are outgo less, making Starbucks more vulnerable to economic fluctuations. 6. 5. Entering late into a highly competitive market In America, Starbucks is a state of mind. In Australia, it was simply another player. Barry Urquhart, quoted in Delaney (2008) From Day I1 Starbucks got off on the back foot. They lacked the first-mover advantage they had in the US and Asia, finding themselves the late entrant in an already very developed, sophisticated and competitive market.Indeed, the competitive landscape in the Australian retail coffee market is very different to that of other countries. Here, Starbucks found themselves competing with hundreds of independent cafes and intensity level coffee chains (see Table 3), where the coffee was generally better and the staff knew their customers by name. Significantly, they were also the last of the major chains to gain a presence in Australia. 6. 6. Failing to communicate the brand Worldwide, Starbucks rarely employs above-the-Iine promotion, and this was also the case in Australia.Instead, they maintained that their stores are the core of the business and that they do not need to build the brand through advertising or promotion. Howard Shultz often preached, Build the (Starbucks) brand one cup at a time, that is, rely on the customer experience to generate word-of-mouth, loyalty and new business. But in a market as competitive as Australia, with a consumer whose palate is discerning and whose loyalty often lies with a specific barista, advertising and promotion was essential to communicate the Starbucks message.The issue is not so much about building awareness which, at 90%, is high but to communicate what the brand means and to give consumers reasons for patronising Starbucks. Their lack of advertising made this branding issue even worse, with many people unable to articulate why they should be loyal to Starbucks. At the same time, competitors were communicating their messages very effectively McDonalds, for instance, is a heavy spending, award-winning, advertiser in the Australian market.Added to which, more subversive counter-messages were coming from those who saw in Starbucks a brand bully riding rough shod over the nuanced tastes and preferences of local culture s (Klein, 2000 Clark, 2008). In other words, a range of strong contrary messages were undermining Starbucks own very limited communications. 6. 7. Unsustainable business model Starbucks product line is limited primarily to coffee. Sometimes a new product idea will be developed, such as the Frappucino, but these tend to have limited product life cycles and/or are seasonal.For example, the Frappucino has traditionally made up 15% of (summer) sales, but recently sales have been down, suggesting that customers are already bored with it (Kiviat, 2008). Furthermore, in the instance where other products were offered, people failed to purchase them as they only really associate Starbucks with coffee and generally seek food elsewhere. This is a very different model to The Coffee Club which has much more of a cafe feel to it, or McDonalds which has a full range of breakfast and lunch/dinner items that can be complemented by a McCafe latte.Hence the average transaction value at Starbucks is lo wer than its competitors, and therefore more customers must pass through its doors to reach the sales and profit levels of its competitors. It also creates conflict with the Starbucks ethos of the third place (and allowing people to sit around for 30 minutes sipping lattes and reading, talking or surfing) versus the need to get people in and out quickly and not take up valuable real estate (which in itself means that the average Starbucks store needs to be much bigger than the average cafe).Unlike most of the other retail coffee chains, Starbucks does not use a franchise model, preferring to lease and fit-out its own outlets. This means more cash is being fagged upfront, and in Starbucks case, more debt accrued. But adopting a franchise model would have numerous other advantages than just minimising this. It would mean that local investors, with a good sense of the local market, put their own money into the business and take an active role in running it and shaping its direction. 7 .What are the main lessons from this case account? Several key lessons emerge that should be of interest to both domestic and international marketers. 7. 1. Crossing international borders is risky and clearly Starbucks did not do their homework, or ignored their homework Well conceived market research involving both primary and secondary data, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, would have uncovered the extent of the coffee culture that existed in 2000 when Starbucks entered the Australian market.It seems inconceivable that Starbucks management, or at least its Australian representatives, were not sufficiently apprised of the extent to which many consumers were already well acculturated in terms of buying and consuming European styles of coffees such as short black, lattes and cappuccinos, nor the extent to which many customers were in fact loyal to their suburban cafe or competitive brands such as Gloria Jeans. As a late market entrant, Starbucks clearly failed to d o thorough homework on the market before entry this is a failure in terms of due diligence.Alternatively, they chose to ignore the messages that were coming from any due diligence that they had undertaken. This may or may not have been due to some arrogance on the part of Starbucks, or due to the fact that they considered they had a strong global brand which would meet with universal acceptance. An example of where Starbucks did do its homework, and act on it, was in France when it entered that market in 2006, establishing a cafe in the middle of Paris.Research had clearly shown the American way of consuming and socialising over a coffee was an anathema to many French, so Starbucks held back from entering the French market and when they finally entered it was with great trepidation, expanding at a very slow pace and testing the market at every step. 7. 2. Think global but act local This familiar maxim in international marketing should be well understood. While Starbucks had brand a wareness as a major global brand, it failed to adapt the product and the customer experience to many mature coffee drinkers in Australia.As noted earlier, all the evidence suggests that it simply tried to transplant the American experience into the Australian market without any adaptation. In particular, it failed to adapt both its core product or its supplementary services to create the intimacy, personalisation and familiarity that is associated with established boutique cafes in Australia. 7. 3. Establish a differential advantage and then hit to sustain it A question of strategy that Starbucks perhaps failed to address was, Is our product differentiation sustainable in the long term and does it ontinue to justify a price premium? As noted earlier, it can be argued that the core product in this case, that is the coffee itself, is essentially a commodity, and that Starbucks coffee, according to many consumers, was no different to the competition, and in some cases inferior. Then Starbucks points of difference clearly revolved around its brand image and supplementary services. It was these supplementary services, such as its unique servicescape and tenuous customer service, that they used to justify a premium price. However, as competitors (e. g. The Coffee Club) quickly imitated the Starbucks experience (i. e. , their supplementary services, ambiance, etc. ), by providing premium coffee and an intimate periodic experience, Starbucks value proposition began to fade. In other words, their key points of difference could be easily imitated and were not sustainable. Faced with this scenario, the onus was on management to re-fresh and evolve any lingering differential advantage that Starbucks might have had or, at the very least, give customers reasons to continue patronising Starbucks through its communications. 7. 4.Dont lose sight of what made you successful in the first place As more and more competitors emerged, both individual cafes and chains such as Gl oria Jeans and The Coffee Club, competitive pressures forced Starbucks to impose rigid sales targets on their frontline staff including baristas to increase store productivity. However, the imposition of these KPTs and the pressure to serve more customers more quickly meant that Starbucks forgot the very thing that made it unique in the early days, namely, to provide a customer experience in an intimate casual setting that set it aside from competitors.As more pressure was placed on staff to have higher throughput, this meant that baristas and other employees had little time to engage with customers. In other words, Starbucks forgot about the very things that made it unique in the first place. This is akin to the Wheel of Retailing hypothesis (Hollander, 1960) where a no-frills retailer gradually moves upmarket in terms of variety of product, price and more services and within several years finds itself competing with the more established premium supermarkets that were the very comp etitors that they tried to distance themselves from in the first place.The only difference with Starbucks is that it reversed the direction of the Wheel by gradually moving downmarket it brought itself into direct competition with cheaper operators and lost sight of what made it successful in the first place. 7. 5. Consider the viability of the business model It has to be questioned whether the Starbucks business model is viable in the long term, or even the medium term. A business model that uses a premium price to justify the excessive floor space and elaborate servicescape, and allows customers to sit in this environment for an hour sipping one latte, has to be questioned.Given that Starbucks do not have the array of products that, say, a McDonalds might have and, as documented earlier in this case, therefore do not generate the same sales volumes and revenues, it is hard to see how the Starbucks model is financially viable. 8. Conclusion In summary, it appears on all the eviden ce that Starbucks not only misjudged the Australian coffee culture but also misjudged the extent of the competition, and failed to adapt its offering to the local market.Furthermore, with the advent of high quality barista training, the availability of premium coffee beans and the technology to produce a high quality cup of coffee (at a modest cost), sole operators who knew their customers by name, were able to set up business as viable competitors. Starbucks may have been responsible for growing the premium coffee category, but the emergence of Gloria Jeans and the Coffee Club (and McCafe, a premium coffee shop embedded in McDonalds restaurants) turned out to be serious competitors.Finally, questions have to be raised about Starbucks fundamental business model in a market where many small niche players can easily replicate the Starbucks Experience. References References AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association, 2006. Australian Coffee Market Key Facts for 2006. Australian Bureau o f Statistics, 2008. Cafes, Restaurants and provide serve, Australia, Report 8655. 0 for 2006-07. Bawden, T. , 2008. Starbucks reports first loss in 16 years. Times Online, 31 July. (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). BBC News, 2006. China central to Starbucks growth. BBC News, 14 February. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Browning, E. 2008. Starbucks hopes growth abroad will however its bottom line. ABC News, 3 1 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Burritt, C, 2007. McDonalds challenges Starbucks with cheaper lattes. Bloomberg, 11 September. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Cebrzynski, G. , 2008. Starbucks-dominated category wakes up and smells McDs espresso rollout. Nations Restaurant News 42 (3), 1-6. Charles, E. , 2007. In the trenches Coffee. In the Black, May, 28-31. Clark, N. , 2008. Starbucks The brand we love to hate. Marketing, 2 April. Coleman-Lochner, L. , Stanford, D. D. , 2008. Starbucks reports first loss since 1992, predicts slower growth.Bloomberg, 30 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Delaney, B. , 2008. Starbucks to go. Guardian, 30 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Edwards, V. , Sainsbury, M. , 2008. Weak coffee and large debt stir Starbucks troubles in Australia. The Australian, 31 July. Euromonitor, 2006. Starbucks Ups Expansion Plans. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2007. Starbucks Corp Consumer Foodservice World. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008a. On-trade Watch Identifying Key Growth Markets to 2012. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008b. Company Watch Starbucks Wakes Up and Smells the Coffee. Euromonitor International.Euromonitor, 2008c. Coffee Australia. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008d. Impulse Food and Drink Channels Coffee Australia. Euromonitor International. Grove, S. , Fisk, R. , John, J. , 2000. Services as theater. In Swartz, T. , Iacobucci, D. (Eds. ), Handbook of Services Marketing and Management. Sage Publications, CA, pp. 21-35. Hollander, S. , 1960. The wheel of retailing. Journal of Marketing 25 (1 ), 37-42. Hot a, M. , 2008. Starbucks brewing more than just coffee. European Case Clearing House (ECCC), 508-025-1. Karolefski, J. , 2002. Conquering new grounds. BrandChannel, 11 February. (accessed 29. 08. 8. ). Kiviat, B. , 2008. Wake up and sell the coffee. Time South Pacific (Australia/New Zealand edition) 7(13), 52-56. Klein, N. , 2000. No Logo. Flamingo, London. Lee, H. , 2003. Japan a nation of coffee lovers. Euromonitor International. Lee, H. , 2004. Coffee brews a future in China? Euromonitor International. Lindhe, J. , 2008. One skinny cap to go. Business Review Weekly, 7 August. (accessed 1 5. 08. 08. ). Lovelock, C, Patterson, P. G. , Walker, R. , 2007. Services Marketing An Asia Pacific and Australian Perspective. Pearson Education, Singapore. Martin, S. , 2008. Starbucks a study in liberal failure. Part II.Conservatism Today, 29 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Mescall, J. , 2008. Starbucks in Australia where did it go wrong? Unleashed, 7 August. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Mintz, J. , 2008. Starbucks closing 600 stores in the US. International Business Times, 1 July, (accessed 14. 09. 08. ). Muthukumar, R. , Jain, S. , 2008. Starbucks suffers Schultz returns. European Case Clearing House (ECCC), 308-152-1. Palmer, D. , 2008. Starbucks what went wrong? AFN Thought for Food, 31 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Schultz, H. , Yang, D. J. , 1997. Pour Your Heart into It How Starbucks Build a Company One Cup at a Time. Hyperia Publishing, New York.Shoebridge, N. , 2008. Local palate bucks another US retailer. The Australian Financial Review, 4 August, (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). Uncles, M. D. , 2008. Aroma Australia Pty Ltd goes to Japan. In Schiffman, L. , Bednall, D. , OCass, A. , Paladino, A. , Ward, S. , Kanuk, L. (Eds. ), Consumer Behaviour, fourth ed. Pearson Education Australia, Australia, pp. 584-588. Wailes, N. , 2008. Taste of defeat for the mugs from Starbucks. Sydney forenoon Herald 31 (July). AuthorAffiliation Paul G. Patterson*, Jane Scott, Mark D. Uncles Sc hool of Marketing, Australian School of Business, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia 7453

We have decided to investigate the land use patterns in a Central Business District (CBD)

We have decided to investigate the land use patterns in a Central Business rule (CBD). The location that we chose for this study was central Croydon. Croydon is a suburban town with a population of just over 330000, to be precise 330688, according to 2002 Census.Central Croydon is dictated in Outer London in the borough of Croydon, though it used to be a Surry Urban District. It is approximately 9.5miles south of London. It is surrounded by numerous some other towns located in the London Borough of Croydon, for instance Norbury which is just North from Central Croydon, Purley which is just South-West of it and a handful other small towns which ar illustrated in Figure 1 below. With over 2.5 million sq. ft of retail space, Croydon is one of the principal shopping revolve arounds South of London.Figure 1It is likely that the placement of Croydons CBD, conforms to a specific urban regulate, which was produced to planetaryize the patterns of urban land use comprise in cities. The models in question atomic number 18 the Burgess and Hoyt models, illustrated below (Figure 2). CBDs are a characteristic in all towns and cities. It is the part of the city where approximately business is conducted. The Central Business District (CBD) is generally located in the centre of a town or city with all route ways leading to it, making it the most accessible place in the city. As a result, it is the most intensively used part of the city and consequently, competition for space to conduct business is great therefore land values are high and only when large businesses apprise locate there. This is why no houses can locate there.2One of my aims in this study is to investigate test how accurately Croydons CBD corresponds to the core-frame model of CBDs, which indicates the layout of various different land uses within a CBD. (see Figure 3 below)According to this model, department inserts, specializer shops, banks, and high rise office blocks are constitute in the core (c entre) of the CBD.In the frame (the area surrounding the core) bus and coach stations, littler shops, theatres and cinemas, multi-storey car parks, universitys, car sales and service andrailway stations, are found her.The CBD of a city is a dynamic area going through changes it isnt static. Cerain parts of the frame, and sometimes including the core, go through a phase of decline unkindly shops, numerous charity and budget shops and a neglected appearance are features of a geographical zone of decay.A different area of a CBD may benefit from the development of new businesses. These particular areas, called zones of improvement, are becoming spirited, more pleasant and more profitable. The condition of sortings and general appearance of the area are also progressing.Having aforethought(ip) where the investigation is to take place, I have constructed a list of the hypotheses I shall be analyzing1) Certain retail land uses get out cluster e.g. Comparison shops such as ladies clo thes shops, shoe shops and jewelers, whereas others allow disperse i.e. Convenience shops (newsagents) and specialist shops (camera shops).Comparison shops, for instance clothes and shoe shops, are expected to cluster so that customers are not obliged to run low very far to the next shop comparing prices, step, and/or style of the goods that they have come to purchase. As these shops make do items that are usually bought rarely the shopper is imparting to visit a handful of different shops before deciding where to buy the item they want. Therefore, I presume these shops will be nearby each(prenominal) other in order to make it easier for consumers to obtain what they are looking for.As for convenience shops, such as newsagents, general stores and corner shops, these are expected to be dispersed since their profits would suffer under the influence of competition if such stores were positioned in nearby vicinity to each other. As these stores mainly sell low-order goods, such as bread, milk, eggs etc. which are needed frequently, people are not willing to travel coherent distances for. Therefore, as these stores have low spheres of influence, it would be bad for business to say the least, if they were to cluster together and generate competition against one another.Like convenience shops, specialist shops, which concentrate on selling only one type of good such as cameras or arts materials, are also dispersed. This is due to the particular that they need to attract a large soma of customers in order to make a profit they need a high threshold population and they will consequently have a large sphere of influence. Another attribute similar to that of the convenience shops, is the actuality that if more than one type of the same store were located close together, they too would have to endure some rivalry.2) Chain stores, department stores will locate in the core of the CBD, whereas smaller, privately owned businesses will locate in the frame of the CBDCh ain stores and department stores are typically more successful and profitable, due to having large spheres of influence and large threshold populations to match, than those of the smaller businesses. They can therefore afford to buy land in the core where it is more often than not, more expensive. Whereas, the smaller businesses are not so agreeable and are forced to set up the businesses around the frame of the CBD.3) Pedestrian flows will be higher near the PLVI (in the core) of the CBD.In theory, as there are a greater number of stores with high spheres of influence, such as department stores, chain store etc., it is likely that a greater number of people will be drawn to that area of the CBD than the outer frame of the CBD. As the route-focus is situated at the PLVI, that particular area is likely to be to most accessible destine of the CBD, therefore attracting furthermore people there.Many companies, businesses and offices are located in the CBD, so the surrounding area outs ide these buildings may be busy with employees or customers entering and exiting the buildings.In Croydons CBD there is also a large number of entertainment amenities, such as night clubs, bars, cinemas and so on, which have large spheres of influence, draftsmanship customers from neighbouring towns that enjoy going out during evenings and weekends etc. The bars, pubs and restaurants also appeal to those who work in close vicinity to, and also within, the CBD and do not have to travel far during lunch breaks and coffee breaks.Finally, the entire CBD of Croydon is amazingly served by count little forms of transport it is the centre of Tram networks, has at least 3 different ascertain stations with frequent links to London and several other places, and over 50 different bus routes passing through the town every day. As a result of these services masses of people are likely to travel or pass through Croydon commuting, on their way to work, school etc., hence resulting in large numbe rs of individuals by bus and tram stops, train stations etc. particularly in the mornings and afternoons.4) Environmental quality will be highest near the PLVI of the CBD in the core and become deject towards the frame. Environmental quality may be higher in a zone of improvement and last(a) in a zone of decay.As shops that are mainly located near the PLVI in Croydons CBD are usually rich, successful chain and department stores, they can afford to maintain their shops and surrounding area at a high standard. The reason for them doing this would be to attract customers, who would supposedly be impressed by peradventure the architecture and cleanliness of their buildings. In view of the fact that these stores have large spheres of influence and draw many people into Croydon, the council probably invests more time and money to reserve that area to a high standard by planting trees, installing benches, hiring road sweepers etc, in order to keep the number of visitors coming into Cro ydon elevated.Environmental quality will obviously be higher in a zone of improvement than in a zone of decay, probably due to a number of factors such as crime and vandalism due to a lack of security, lack of funds being spent on the area by the council as it doesnt attract many people into Croydon. Also, a characteristic of zones of improvement is that the area is progressing and improving, perhaps by opening well known coffee shops such as Starbucks, Costa etc., that will bring in more trade.Also, people probably have more respect for attractive areas that have security and look pleasant, than they do for run-down, grotty areas where it is possible to get away with law-breaking and sabotage.5) Building height will decrease with distance from the CBDIn my opinion the explanation of this hypothesis is relatively straightforward. As the price of land grows more expensive in the CBD (most probably because of the prestigious, prime location in the most busy spot in the CBD), owners b uild on the land they already own to avoid buying more land and also to make the most of what they already own. Consequently, the further away from the CBD, the lower the building will be, for the reason that owners are able to meet the expense of increasing the amount of land the purchase, as the area is further away from the kudos and popularity of the CBD.6) The publics general opinion of the frame of the CBD is negative and dissatisfied compared to that of the coreAccording to the core-frame model of the CBD, the frame contains areas of a lower standard than in the core the zone of improvement and the zone of decay. I would imagine the publics opinion of the outer CBD to be a lot lower and more downbeat than that of the PLVI, purely because the area is in worse condition and less appealing to the individuals in Croydon. As basically all of the department stores, businesses, places to eat, amenities and so forth, are located deep within the centre of the CBD there is little rea son for people to visit the outer CBD which consists of little of interest or appeal. Not compared to core at any rate.There are a handful of factors that result in the frame of the CBD being less likable and attractive than the core, such as environmental quality being less than satisfactory, shops being less appealing and attractive, higher crime rates, distance from the core, being less accessible and so on.Generally speaking, I think the public would often rather visit a safe, visually pleasing,clean, and on the whole, a higher standard area than a vandalized, potentially dangerous, run-down area.

Emotional Eating Essay

Definition -when mess use food as a way to deal with feelings instead of to satisfy hunger. Weve all been there, finishing a whole bag of chips out of boredom or downing cookie after cookie while cramming for a big test. But when done a lot especially without realizing it Reasons for ruttish eating One of the biggest myths about emotional eating is that its prompted by negative feelings. Yes, people often turn to food when theyre stressed out, lonely, sad, anxious, or bored.But emotional eating can be linked to positive feelings too, same the romance of sharing dessert on Valentines Day or the celebration of a holiday feast. Sometimes emotional eating is tied to major life events, like a end or a divorce. More often, though, its the countless little daily stresses that cause someone to seek comfort or distraction in food. ablaze eating patterns can be learned A child who is given candy after a big achievement may grow up using candy as a reward for a job well done. A kid who i s given cookies as a way to obstruction crying may learn to link cookies with comfort.Comfort Food We all have our own comfort foods. Interestingly, they may vary according to moods and gender. One prove found that happy people seem to want to eat things like pizza, while sad people prefer ice cream and cookies. Bored people crave salty, crunchy things, like chips. Researchers also found that guys seem to prefer hot, homemade comfort meals, like steaks and casseroles. Girls go for chocolate and ice cream. This brings up a remaining question Does no one take comfort in carrots and celery sticks?Researchers are looking into that, too. What theyre finding is that high-fat foods, like ice cream, may motivate certain chemicals in the body that create a sense of contentment and fulfillment. This almost addictive quality may actually make you reach for these foods again when feeling upset. Were all emotional eaters to some extent (who hasnt suddenly found room for dessert after a fill ing dinner party? ). But for some people, emotional eating can be a real problem, causing serious weight gain or cycles of binging and purging.The trouble with emotional eating (aside from the health issues) is that once the pleasure of eating is gone, the feelings that cause it remain. And you often may feel worse about eating the amount or image of food you did. Thats why it helps to know the differences between physical hunger and emotional hunger. If it is emotional hunger ,it feels very sudden and urgent. It also causes specific cravings like ice-cream or pizzaYou also tend to eat more than you usually would. Sometimes, it can cause guilt afterwards.

Transatlantic Change in North American Colonies

Included in these changes were lab or source, kinds of labor, organization of labor, race and the typewrites of crops/ agriculture needed. These changes ere more significant because they lead to even more changes, development s, improvements, troubles, etc. Which all lead to society today. Over time, the demand for labor remained the same things needed to be pro educed, which meant labor was needed in order to provide suppliers/ consumers with whatever they wanted/ needed.The source of that needed labor, however, did change. Indentured SE ravens were the source of labor throughout the colonies, but in 161 9, the first collection of people were brought from Africa to the the Statess to become hard workers. To some, slavery was discovered to be much cheaper and more efficient that bound servitude mass amount s of Africans could be brought over to America at once, and they could easily be sold and try added anywhere among the colonies where need be.To others though, there wasnt muc h of a need for slaves. People still favored indentured servants, whom theyd been using for q tutee a while already, because they felt more of a personal servitude with them, so they we area bit reluctant to give them up. Indentured servitude would soon be almost overshadowed b slavery though, because 30 years after 1 793, comes the cotton gin which will raise the importance of plantations, thus increasing slave demand.Even still though, the labor source changed from indentured servitude to slavery, as did a change occur from subsistence farm s to plantations. With this change from farms to plantations, came a change from subsistence crops to marketed crops such as tobacco and, the most famous, cotton all of this can be seen as a result of the major population growth and expansion of the county, as considerably a importation/ exportation changes (trading slaves for goods, triangular trade).To restate, concluding, continuity was maintained in aspects such as demand d/need for labor, need for crops/ agriculture, importation, etc. It was the changes (labor source, which crops/ type of agriculture is used, what is being imported/ exported) that occurred from transatlantic interactions that hold even more significance because they lead t o changes, improvements, developments, etc.

Brief History of Computer by Ajiboye Daud

LITERATURE REVIEW OF COMPUTER HARDWARE Computers have evolved from the fundamental principles of mathematical calculation and lecture treat. The computing ashess of today are an outcome of the efforts and intellect of mathematicians, logicians, linguists and technologists from all over the world. Computer history comprises the ontogenesisary journey of computing systems, the timeline of operating systems as nearly as the history behind the culture of a wide variety of computer software and hardware. tam-tamow is the computer history in brief and the evolution of computers. How did the different types of computers evolve?Here is a brief overview of the progress of computing technology from calculators of the 18th century right up to the modern-day digital portable computers. yr Technology Used to begin with 1801 Calculators were the earliest computing devices. They were the only computation tools for long years before the creation of computers. 1801 The years that followed were dominated by the use of punched cards for computing. The users used to submit programming assignments to a computer centre using stacks of cards. The programs used to be queued for processing and execution. 1930 1960 Desktop mechanic calculators were built during the 1930s.During the 1950s and the 60s, electronic desktop calculators came up. Analog computational technologies predominated this period. 1940 1960 This span of time witnessed the emergence of the digital computing technology. Zuse Z3, ENIAC and EDSAC were some of the early digital computers. * First-generation computers were establish on the von Neumann architecture. * The second generation computers were characterized by the replacement of vacuum tube by bipolar transistors. They were composed of printed circuit boards. After 1960 These years witnessed the readyment of the third generation computers.They were based on integrated circuits. Computer systems of this period had large memory board capacities an d high processing powers. Multi-core CPUs became available in the 21st century. Laptops, palmtops, hand-held PCs, notebook computers and tablet PCs are popular today. Computer breeding still continues. Let us now look at the history and timeline of computing systems. Before moving ahead, it will be interesting to know when was the first computer made Year Event 2400 BC Abacus, the first known calculator was invented in Babylonia. It was a study step towards the era of computing that was to follow. 500 BC Panini, an ancient Indian Sanskrit grammarian came up with the predecessor of the modern formal verbiage theory. 300 BC Pingala invented the binary number system that serves as the foundation of computing systems the world over. 1614 thaumaturgy Napier designed the system of movable rods, which used algorithms to fulfill the basic mathematical operations. 1622 William Oughtred invented slide rules. 1822 Charles Babbage devised the first mechanical computer. 1937 bottom V. Atanasoff devised the first digital electronic computer 1939 Atanasoff and Clifford Berry came up with the ABC prototype. 1941 The electromechanical Z machines by Konrad Zuse proved being an important step in the evolution of computers. 1943 Colossus, which was able to decode German messages, was designed at Bletchley Park in Britain. 1944 Harvard scotch I, a computer with lesser programmability was designed. 1945 John von Neumann described a stored program architecture, for the first time ever. This architecture was the heart of the computer systems developed thereafter. This architecture, which came to be known as the von Neumann architecture is a part of every computer till today. 1946 The Ballistics Research Laboratory of the joined States came up with the electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). It was the first general purpose electronic computer but had an inflexible architecture. 1950 The US National Bureau of Standards came up with the Standards electro nic/Eastern Automatic Computer (SEAC). It was the first computer using diodes for handling logic. 1951 Lynos Electronic Office (LEO), the first business computer was developed by John Simmons and T. Raymond Thompson. UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer was designed in the United States by John Presper Eckert and John W.Mauchly. EDVAC, the electronic discrete variable automatic computer was introduced. 1955 Bell Labs introduced its first transistor computer. Transistors made computers energy-efficient. 1958 Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was formed. This year too witnessed the making of the first silicon chip by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce. 1968 downslope launched the first mini computer known as PDP-8 1969 The US Department of Defense founded the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). It was established with intent to develop a computer network and is the predecessor of the Internet. 1971 Microcomputers came up with microprocessors and Ted Hoff at I ntel, introduced 4-bit 4004. 1972 This year witnessed the creation of 8080 microprocessors by Intel. 1973 A minicomputer that was called Xerox Alto was developed during this year. It was an important milepost in the development of personal computers. 1974 Researchers at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center came up with Alto, which was the first workstation with an inbuilt mouse. It had a fair amount of storage capacity and offered menus and icons. It could also connect to a network. 1975 Altair came up with the first portable computer. The foundation of the present-day relationship between portability and computing was laid way binding in 1975 Tandem computers, the first computers with online transaction processing capacities were born during this period. 1979 By 1979, more than half a million computers were in use in the United States. This number crossed 10 million by 1983. 1981 The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was founded. It was during the same year that the first 32-bit chip was introduced by Hewlett-Packard. 1982 Intel announced the 80286 processor. 1983 In this year, the Time magazine nominated personal computer for the title machine of the year. 1985 Intel introduced the 80386 processor that consists of a 16MHz processor. 1990 The World Wide Web was born. Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, developed HTML. He came up with specifications such as URL and HTTP. He based the World Wide Web on enquiry-based system that used hypertext and enabled bulk to collaborate over a network. His first web server and browser became available to the public. Till date The development of newer versions of computer systems continues. An operating system is that software component of a computer system, which deals with the management of the different computer processes and the sharing of computer resources. It hosts computer applications and handles computer hardware. Take a look at the major events in the history of operating systems. Before go ing ahead, you might like to take a quick look at the different types of operating systems. Year Event 1954 MIT came up with their operating system for UNIVAC 1103. 1964 Dartmouth timesharing operating system was developed. 1965 Multics was announced. However, it was opened for paying customers in October 1969. 1966 DOS/360 of IBM came up. 1969 This year witnessed the development of the Unix operating system by ATT. 1976 CP/M was developed during this year. 1980 OS-9 came up in 1980. 1981 This year can be considered fortunate to have witnessed the development of MS-DOS. IBM had hired Paul Allen and Bill provide to create an operating system in 1980. They used the operating system manufactured by the Seattle Computer Products as a template to develop DOS. 1984 mackintosh operating system came up in this year. 1987 It was during this year that MINIX, BSD2000 and OS/2 were developed. 1988 RISC iX, LynxOS and Macintosh OS (System 6) came up during this year. 1989 This was the time when the RISC operating system was developed. 1991 It was in 1991 that Linux came up. It is a Unix-like operating system, which is a free software. It was during this year that Minix 1. 5 was developed and Macintosh came up with System 7. 1992 Solaris, the successor of Sun OS 4. X came up during this year. 1993 Plan 9, FreeBSD, NetBSD and Windows NT 3. 1 came up during 1993. 1995 OpenBSD and Microsoft Windows 95 came up during 1995 1996 Windows NT 4. 0 hit the computing market in 1996. 998 1998 witnessed the fire of Windows 98 as intumesce of Solaris 7. 2000 Windows 2000, which hit the markets in 2000, was the first Windows server operating system to drop the NT suffixed to its name. Windows ME, which was sold during this year, was the last operating system in the Windows 9x line. Red Hat Linux 6. 2E also came up during 2000. 2001 Windows XP was launched and soon gained a wide popularity. Windows XP 64-bit edition followed in 2002. 2002 Windows XP Service Pack 1 was released in 2002. 2003 2003 witnessed the launch of the Windows 2003 Server as also the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. 2004 Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released in 2004. 2006 Windows Vista hit the markets 2008 Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 came up in 2008. It was also during this very year that Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released. Computers have always been the most efficient computational devices. They have high processing powers and are able to run and execute large programs. Programming languages serve as the means to write programs on computer systems. Thus, it is important to look at the timeline of the development of some of the major programming languages.Following is an overview of the important events in the history of computer languages. Year Programming Language Developed Before 1950 The ENIAC cryptogram system was primarily used in computing 1954-54 Fortran 0 was designed by a team at IBM. Fortran Implementation was developed by Jo hn Backus at IBM in 1957. 1956-58 John McCarthy came up with the concept of LISP. 1959 COBOL concept came up followed by its execution of instrument that was developed by the Codasyl Committee in 1960. The LISP implementation was developed in 1959. LISPs successor, Common LISP, came up later in 1984. 1964 IBM came up with PL/I concept. PL/M followed years later in 1972. 1964 also saw the development of BASIC by Kemeny and Kurtz. 1969 Ken Thompson developed the B language. 1970 This was when Pascal was developed. 1972 It was during 1972 that Smalltalk and Prolog were developed. One of the most important events in the history of computing was the development of C language. It was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972. 1975 Scheme, the successor of LISP came up in 1975 as also Modula, the successor of Pascal. 1978 SQL was developed at IBM in 1978. 1979 REXX and AWK came up in 1979. 1980-83 C with classes was developed in 1980. Objective-C came up in 1982. 1983 witnessed the deve lopment of C++, one of the very popular languages till date. 1985 PostScript and Object Pascal run to 1985. 1987 Perl that derives some of its features from C, as also from AWK, sed and sh evolved in 1987. 1991 Van Rossum came up with Python. Visual Basic, developed by Alan Cooper, came up in the same year. 1993 Ruby, which is considered a successor of Smalltalk and Perl, came up in 1993. 1994 PHP was born in 1994. 1995 ColdFusion belongs to 1995.It was during this year that James Gosling at Sun Microsystems came up with Java. 1996 Javascript was born in this year. ECMAScript, its successor came up in 1997. 1999 XSLT, a language based on XML by the W3C and the Game Maker Language by Mark Overmars were born in 1999. 2000 The D language and C came up in 2000. 2006 The development of Windows PowerShell by Microsoft was one of the significant events in computing that took place in 2006. Looking at the speedily advancing computing technology, we can sure say that the future of computers is going to be as glorious as their history.

Odyssey, realism or fantasy? Essay

Stories and epics can last by means ofout time the Odyssey has proven the test of time. The Odyssey acts as a guide book for the antediluvian patriarch Greeks but eachows modern audiences to still enjoy the content. It helps choke an oversight as to the life and morals of the Ancient world. both(prenominal) realism and fantasy play a part in the Odyssey to induce relatable tension and excitable journeys. The Gods help make and break Odysseus on his journey stake to Ithaca. home run enabled the gods to be anthropomorphic from the outset.The gods assemble a council to discuss Odysseus situation thus uttering a democratic society that would be desirable to all audiences (almost promoting democracy as something even the gods would do). genus Zeus and Poseidon prove vengeful and merciful depending on the situation, similarly, Calypso and Circe show jealousy and selfishness when we initiative meet them on their testify isolated islands. Calypso even suffers the injustice of doub le standards in which she is not permitted to marry a mortal Odysseus.Gods such Aeolus add tension to the Odyssey as Odysseus hands do not trust what is in the bag which results in being blown off course to Ithaca. The gods hold human emotions which has consequences on Odysseus throughout his journey, whether it being Inos sympathy or Poseidons wrath. Gods hold the ability to physically change into any human in the mortal world causing tests to the cities and enables genus Athene greatly in aiding Odysseus. The significantly differs to a modern audiences potential view on a God, the Christian God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent.An Ancient audience is shown that the many gods do have the realism of human emotions but the powers to ca lend oneself physical disasters (such as great waves and storms). This allows an old-fashioned audience to relate more to the gods into how they should behave as well as that morals are important, however, even the gods have weak spots. Homer sustai ns fantasy and reality when describing the actions and intentions of the gods, merging them together to create his epic. Odysseus comes across many tremendous people in his journey home.He reaches the land of the Lystrogonians who at the surface seem like a civilised country, however, he goes on to discover that they are in fact cannibalistic giants. What started out as a potentially realistic view into another country to be discovered, turned into a fantastical and thrilling fight for their lives. Monsters such as Scylla and Charybdis, and the sirens prove only there to be dangerous. They try and prevent Odysseus from continuing home. They do, however, put forward an insight into how Odysseus behaves and reacts to situations of fictional monsters.The monsters prove that Odysseus isnt only strong against men, but even fantastical creatures which he would have never encountered before. Even Circe and Calypso and first of all presented as being the perfect Ancient Greek woman by sin ging and weaving when they are first presented in the epic. They seem regulation and real but soon show their dangerous and evil intentions of hindering Odysseus. Homer disguises them as to seem real and normal but then throws in a fantastical twist to keep the audience engaged to how what might seem normal, is far from it.As well as this, the Phaecians are completely fantastical and a fictional town. They have such a strong relationship with the gods that the gods do not disguise themselves at all they turn up in their true forms. They are even related to the Cyclopes who we descry out Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon. Subsequently, from disobeying Poseidon, they get punished extremely harshly (they get turned into rocks for fate Odysseus leave their island) which is all fictional.Even through hall the different fictional islands he travels through and all the monsters he meets, Greek traditions such as xenia and square-toed burial rights still apply. The best example of this is Elpenor. He falls off of Circes roof and they do not burry him. By book 11, when Odysseus enters the Underworld, Elpenor begs Odysseus to find his body and properly burry him to which Odysseus complies. Similarly, whilst leaving the island of the Cicones, Odysseus and his crew solute the death of 72 men 3 times each as they sail away.The sheer maintain to the dead and the lengths that Odysseus goes to respect them is shown throughout the Odyssey no matter where he is. Xenia is a system to respect strangers and there is a specific process to go through before asking the stranger questions (this involves feeding, bathing, clothing and a gift at the end of their stay). Circe awful xenia to Odysseus crew as she turns them into pigs however she does, in the end, correct her ways and give Odysseys crew a house, food and clothes for a year.The Phaecians do not show xenia to begin with either although they soon correct their ways. Xenia is about respecting Zeus as the gods can physical ly transform into humans and therefore could test anyone one their xenia. The perfect xenia of Nestor and Menelaus towards Telemachus are clear examples to an Ancient audience oh how to practise xenia. Even characters that dont show xenia to begin with, end up complying which enables the realism of morals to come across with the ancient audience. The fantasy creatures and gods (such as Circe and Calypso) show xenia.The first half of the Odyssey shows a lot of excitement caused by the fantasy events that take place. The second half, once Odysseus lands in Ithaca, realism seems to take over in which Odysseus has to keep his disguises as a beggar and be opened to abuse which comes with it. This endurance of such awful behaviour of the suitors towards him gives, once again, clear morals to an ancient and modern audience of what is happening in Greece and what is viewed as unacceptable the lack of xenia and curtsey of the suitors.The loyalty of Eumaeus and Eurycleia combined with the a ccepted trust of Telemachus who has gained his kleos provides entertainment as Odysseus plots to spurn all 108 suitors using his strength and cunning. This scene is influential to show how badly a beggar would have been treated but the justice that finally came upon the suitors would give hope to an audience of an era, that the hero always wins. Fantasy adds to the entertainment of the Odyssey just as much as the finalism of reality raining back onto Ithaca as set up is restored in a violent manner.Morals have not changed that dramatically since Ancient Greece therefore the Odyssey still applies the good morals of respecting everyone as well as the strong loyalty of family which can be valued and relatable throughout time. As the Odyssey is meant to be a guide book for morals for the Ancient Greeks, the Odyssey will use issues relating to their lifestyle (such as xenia, nostos, kleos and dike). The odyssey allows for real life issues to be twisted into a fantasy form which an anci ent audience would respect if the gods are anthropomorphic and they assert xenia and correct their ways, then so should mortals.Fantasy cannot be the only aspect to an epic which would last through time, the audience has to be able to relate to the issues which summon to the protagonist. The Odyssey portrays humanity, justice, consequences and loyalty whether that be through people such as Penelope and Odysseus, or the jealousy of Calypso and Odysseus. Readers can relate to the topics that arise in the Odyssey. Homer has enabled an epic to complement fantasy and reality into one 10 year journey across the unknown just to get home.

Danielle Steel’s novel “Fine Things” Essay

Novel Title ok ThingsAuthor Danielle SteelSummaryBernard Fine is a successful bachelor managing of the biggest stores in California. Bernie (nickname) runs into a little girl who is genuinely anomic and decides to help her out while. Her render Liz comes to pick up her seven year old daughter Jane Calloway. The dickens newly met became friends (Bernie and Liz) and eventually fell in love and got married (much to the liking of Jane). Everything goes well and shortly aft(prenominal) their marriage Liz gives birth to a son but the doctors decided that Liz has to stay in the hospital for a while and when Bernie asks why, they said that she must be tested for something but they never mentioned anything else to the overly concerned husband. A week later Liz is out of the hospital and with Bernie she finds out that shes a victim of the unusedly disease cancer.Liz presently grows so weak that she looses her life and the long and painful journey for the young pace- convey Bernie has finally hit the saddest dead end. He tried to put up with his lost of his wife with the help of his parents. Bernie has no trouble at all raising Alexander and Jane all by himself then one day he met Janes biological father, Carter, and Bernie remembers that custody should be his because Carter abandoned his wife and daughter long before. Carter defends himself while Bernie doesnt believe him but somehow the man gains custody of his daughter then all of a sudden Bernie hears from his broker that Jane is the middle of a drug smuggling havoc in Mexico.He begs to the police that he should go with them to rescue Jane. Bernie drives down to the motel waited for a while until the agent finally has Jane out of the motel and back in her fathers arms. Bernie begins to move on emotionally, and becomes involved with a beautiful doctor, but Jane is still loyal to her mother and cant accept this new woman but later on realized that his step father deserves to be quick and knew that her late m other would let him to be happy with someone new. replyThe story of the novel is not far from happening in real life. To keep a happy and complete family is always a challenge. In this novel, Bernie Fine struggles with the lost of his wife from the early stage of their marriage, departure him the responsibility of raising their children and the longing of having someone special again.It showed the vulnerability of a man when it comes to losing a very important person forever.Reference Fine Things by Danielle Steel