The Fall of the House of Usher free essay sample

The Fall of the House of Usher† is, quite literally, a story about the fall of the House of Usher. The â€Å"House of Usher† can be interpreted to mean either the literal, the House the Usher’s lives in, or it can refer to the bloodline, the House of the Usher’s (insert joke about personally belonging to the House of Godric Gryffindor here). Not only that, but to take it even more literally, when Roderick is attacked at the end of the story, he falls to the ground, which is yet another tie into the title of the story. The House of Usher does fall to the earth after the twins die, however, and that is where the true â€Å"fall† happens, as the entire Usher house – the structure and the bloodline – cease to exist. As the narrator approaches the house, his first glance of the structure is not straight at it, but instead at a puddle which reflects the house upside down. We will write a custom essay sample on The Fall of the House of Usher or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The symbolism of the reflection is reflected in the way that Roderick and Madeline are twins, but are boy vs. girl, mentally ill vs. physically ill, and dead vs. alive. Upon further inspection of the house, the narrator notes, â€Å"there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaption of parts and the crumbling condition of the individual stones† (89). The House of Usher has only existed through incest, so this description could be in reference to the fact that from a distance, or as a whole, the Usher family was in fine condition, until you looked closely at the individual members and see the ailments that are crumbling the individual family members. Another feature of the physical House of Usher is it’s claustrophobic feel. This is a representation of the claustrophobia between the twins to be their own person. They are confined to the house, and confined to each other (since they must reproduce in order to continue the blood line). She is confined by her body, through its illness that forces her to lose control of her limbs, and then she is forced into the space of the coffin, which is then stored in an underground tomb. Roderick is confined to the space of his own mind, which is too small in that he can’t escape from his thoughts or the sounds that he thinks he hears. Lastly, the fissure down the center of the house is a representation of the fissure between the brother and sister. The house’s foundation is unstable, as are the brother and sister, and ultimately this separation is what ends the House of Usher, both the family and the house itself. The House is not merely the setting where this story took place, but it played games with us and gave us clues as to who these people are. Each rotting stone was a person and it’s fissure down the middle was a relationship. The enclosed space of the house was the enclosed setting that led to the deaths of the House of Usher. The Fall of the House of Usher free essay sample Madeline of the House of Usher Role-playing games are a great past time for literature enthusiasts. A player sits down, creates a character with quirks and a personality, usually special abilities, and meets with other people who have done the same. They sit at tables, in couches, on porches all around the world. They sit down to hear and participate in a story, a story told by the storyteller. The storyteller creates a scenario, a background, extra characters (NPCs), and certain rules. Once the story begins, control is a relative term. The storyteller knows the story, but the characters are free to move about and unknowingly change the story as they go. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† the storyteller and characters interact in a very strange way. The storyteller tries to maintain control and the characters try to free themselves. It is a struggle against two aspects, the oppressor and the oppressed, masculine and feminine. We will write a custom essay sample on The Fall of the House of Usher or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Madeline Usher, the sole female character in the story, is kept in the background, but holds her own by being the main drive for much of the plot. Roderick Usher, the male descendant of the Usher household, has qualities of the feminine, but introduces a powerfully masculine identity into the house. The line of triumph of the oppressed feminine over the oppressive masculine is blurry and leaves much to be desired. The first key to the house as a story and backdrop is the connection often attributed to Roderick and the house. The idea that the house deteriorates with the last wielder of the Usher name has been argued before. Roderick’s slow descent into madness is marked by cracks in the foundation of the house. This theory holds good merit from textual evidence. The story itself follows that line; Roderick describes the house as having â€Å"an effect which the physique of the gray walls and turrets, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had, at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence† (119). But this is just one influence the characters have over the plot and vice versa. This view of the house and the connection to the family is shaded by a masculine identity. Surely the last male heir of the Usher house must be the cause for the decay, regardless of the feminine Usher remaining. It is easy to label Madeline Usher as a weak character. Not only is her lack of presence in the story noted, but her physical descriptions are that of a weak girl. Roderick explains to the narrator that she suffers from an unknown disease, â€Å"[a] settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (119). Madeline suffers from an unknown illness and is kept indoors in case she becomes the victim of her own frailty. The narrator sees her only briefly before her burial later in the story, and soon after her appearance, she is confined to her bed. The character of Madeline Usher is subjugated. She is kept in the background. Her family line is given to Roderick, her twin brother, as was the custom at the time. Within the story, she could be representative of other women in the nineteenth century: left in the home with no rights. Madeline can also represent one of the more important aspects of the feminine as a whole, the idea of death and rebirth in her premature burial and subsequent escape from her tomb. Beverly Voloshin makes note of another point of Madeline’s femininity through color association. â€Å"Madeline matches her brother’s pallor, but her special mark is red†¦blood red being the token of both life and death† (14). Not only is she often introduced with the color red, a generally accepted color for the feminine, but her actions in the story speak directly to the idea brought about by that color. Madeline is, essentially, the feminine half of the Usher family. Roderick Usher, Madeline’s twin and the masculine half of the Usher family, is the initial, obvious oppressor. As Leila May explains as historical background in her essay, â€Å"’Sympathies of a Scarcely Intelligible Nature: The Brother-Sister Bond in Poes Fall of the House of Usher’,† the social and political authority over the household was given to the men (389). As far as the outside world is concerned, Roderick is the head of the household, putting him in a legal and social position over his sister. Diane Hoevler makes some very sound arguments for the idea of Roderick as an oppressor in her essay â€Å"The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. She points out Poe’s own frustration with women and the idea that Roderick strives for a world, a â€Å"purely masculine universe, a fortress where males engage in discourse without the intrusion of the female in any form –living or dead: ‘Us’ versus ‘her’: ‘Us/her’† (388). Legally, Roderick is the superior half of the la st vestiges of the Usher family. It was Roderick, after all, who invited the male narrator to the house. The narrator explains that the two had been friends before and Roderick had recently sent a letter insisting that he come to the house (Poe 114). It is Roderick’s decision in the story to entomb his deceased sister in the vaults underneath the house before her burial. This burial can be viewed as an attempt by the masculine identity to rid itself of the female identity, Roderick making a final struggle against his sister. However, as Cynthia Jordan argues, â€Å"he is but a character in the story himself, and his actions are at least in part the product of his narrator’s construction† (6). The idea of plot control being in the narrator’s hands puts the narrator in the sole position of masculine oppressor and not just over Madeline Usher. The narrator in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† views, or at least tries to explain, everything from a distanced point-of-view. His logical take on what happens at the house paints a picture with traditionally masculine tones. He also is focused on the masculine half of the Usher twins. His focus is so centered on Roderick that he would as soon dismiss Madeline from his story entirely. Jordan notes this striving towards sole masculinity influence in her essay â€Å"Poe’s Re-Vision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : â€Å"The narrator’s first encounter with Madeline confirms the conflict between the male storyteller and the lady of the house† (7). His first encounter with Madeline is almost half way through the story. He describes her briefly, almost as a wraith, when Roderick mentions her. â€Å"I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread; and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings† (Poe 119). His reaction to the feminine aspect of the Usher household is obviously negative, describing his emotions of shock and fear in the face of Roderick’s sister. After this brief mention, he leaves her out of the story once again, citing that she succumbed to her bed after his almost encounter and that he would not see her again alive (120). Jordan notes that this absence of Madeline is an attempt on the narrator’s part to keep Madeline out of the story: â€Å"the narrator uses language covertly to relegate Madeline to a passive position in relation to himself† (7). Roderick, in this case is not the masculine oppressor; the narrator is. The irony of the situation, though, is that in trying to suppress Madeline, the female twin and the object that the narrator prescribes to femininity, he lets that feminine essence flourish. By the end of the story, the narrator is forced to face that he cannot create a solely masculine story. As Raymond Benoit, a voice in Explicator’s long series of essays on â€Å"Usher,† points out, the narrator is forced to face the feminine through the reading of â€Å"Mad Trist† at the end of the story: â€Å"a mad story that parallels what is occurring in the house and reflects and even enables the awakening of the feminine side thought to have been laid to rest in the philosophy and literature of the Enlightenment and by Roderick/narrator† (80). The narrator cannot ignore the strong feminine influence in the house, much as he tries. Perhaps this is because the source of the feminine influence is sitting beside him. Throughout the story, Roderick appears as a romantic and an artist. He reads romance and gothic novels and is emotional to the point of hysteria at times. Beverly Voloshin enters her theory in the series shared with Benoit and others on â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† in Explicator. Her theory follows the lines of Roderick being the feminine half of the Usher twins. â€Å"Roderick is associated with the abstract, atemporal, and ideal† (14). These attributes are generally feminine in nature, gentle and imaginative. In a usually feminine role, Roderick’s actions are often reactions to other characters, showing subordination. His madness is spurred by the supposed death of Madeline, an irrational and emotional reaction to an action of another character. Roderick’s death, often attributed with the ultimate fall of the house itself, is a reaction to the return and death of Madeline. His death is a reaction to the death of a feminine character, which gives power to the feminine over the masculine. Poe is known to have sickly seraph types in his stories, but these seemingly weak female characters speak to his fondness for women. Poe’s life was filled with women who were taken away by illness, making them physically weak: his mother, his cousin and wife. But the women in Poe’s life were often the source of his strength, making them spiritually and often mentally strong. The experience of physically weak, spiritually strong women in his life greatly influenced his portrayal of women in his stories and poetry; Anabelle Lee comes to mind. Similarly, Madeline follows the guidelines for Poe’s memory of women. In a strange way, Poe often put these women on pedestals. Madeline’s presence is very rarely in the foreground of Poe’s short story, but the times when she does appear, it is her appearance that changes the mood of the scene. Madeline owns every scene in which she appears. Her actions are catalysts. The character is weak, but Poe puts her in a position of power beyond character; Poe gives Madeline a position of power over the plot. While the ultimate portrayal of Madeline might be a slap in the face against feminists, her role in the story is large enough to create a strong female influence. Poe follows his own guidelines in the character of Madeline Usher. She fits his ideal for true beauty. John H. Timmerman helps lead the way towards viewing Madeline in this light by explaining Poe’s reasoning. He explains Poe’s drive towards creating beauty in his writing, a beauty that he believed could only be achieved through sadness (232). Because of this connection and his past with women, Poe comes to the conclusion that â€Å"the most sad thing, and therefore the most beautiful, is the death of a beautiful woman† (232). Madeline, though pale and sickly, is one of these beautiful women. Her death, then, is a thing of beauty in Poe’s eyes. The concept is not a very enthusiastic one, nor is it useful in citing Poe as an advocate for women, but that he put emphasis on women is a step in the right direction. From his idea that a beautiful woman’s death is indeed the most beautiful occurrence in nature, he spurned the male characters in his stories to help reclaim the feminine within his stories. The male counterparts to these tragic women are the main argument for Cythia Jordan. In her essay Poes Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story,† Jordan argues that Roderick Usher and C. Auguste Dupin are male characters who attempt to bring to light the feminine or â€Å"second† story. While the narrator has ultimate control over the plot of â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† Jordan points out times when Roderick tries to wrestle that control from him and reassert Madeline as a prominent figure in the story. The final scene of â€Å"Usher† is where Roderick gets that victory, â€Å"Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door! † (130). Jordan explains that this marks a moment in which Roderick takes control of the narrative long enough to call the narrator out on his oppression and to bring Madeline out into the spotlight (11). Roderick proves again that he is not the male oppressor but is instead a supporter if not aspect of the feminine. The question becomes, then, why would Roderick want to bring Madeline to the forefront? The sole reason being that she is his twin is likely not enough. The idea of them being two aspects of the same being, or two sides of the same face is more concrete. But consider that Roderick is an artist, not only placing him in a feminine role, which would be cause enough to help the feminine thrive, but as an artist he must meet that ultimate goal that Poe put forth for himself: to create beauty. If Poe’s characters follow his own guidelines, then, Roderick’s only way to express that which is most beautiful in the world is to bring his beautiful sister’s death to the forefront of the story. Thus, in Roderick’s moment of control over the plot, in revealing the â€Å"second story† of Madeline, he follows those rules of an artist so avidly produced by his own author. The end result is not just Poe’s ideal of beauty, it also gives voice to the silenced feminine within the story –both Madeline’s and possibly Roderick’s own. The connection between Madeline and Roderick as twins is an interesting part of their mixed and almost non-existent gender roles. It has been suggested that their relationship is an incestuous affair, bringing together that mixed-gendered ambiguity into an even more scrambled position. Voloshin and others regard the twin connection, Voloshin looking specifically at the dichotomies apparent within that connection. †¦[T]he Usher twins also represent the duality of culture and nature, or more precisely, that they correspond to many cultural constructions of masculine and feminine, which divide the genders along the axis of culture and nature† (14). The fact that Poe decided to use twins pushes the idea that such dichotomies exist. Roderick, similar to Madeline, is afflicted with an ailment, on e that is â€Å"a constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy –a mere nervous affection† (118). This nervous condition is displayed throughout the story in his outbursts and personality shifts. It is suggested that the ailment, being a family curse, is close to if not the same as Madeline’s. Madeline, however, shows strength in that she did not succumb to the illness before the narrator arrives. Madeline is given credit for being the stronger of the two, a masculine trait. The dichotomy does not fit what society would expect from gender roles. The male is the feminine and the female is the masculine. It has been suggested that Roderick and Madeline are the same person, or aspects of the same person. Hoeveler plays with this idea in her essay on the â€Å"Abjected Woman. She discusses the idea that Madeline is in fact the feminine half of Roderick that has escaped to become an alter-ego (391). Not only would physical evidence within the text dispute that idea –the fact that the narrator sees Madeline during a conversation with Roderick –but why, then, would Roderick assume so many feminine traits of his own? And why would Madeline seem to uphold those t raits generally accepted as masculine? The rest of the essay is another key: the idea of dualities in religion, the goddess and the god. The duality returns to the twin idea, and the twin concept requires a semblance of balance. If Roderick is the feminine role, Madeline must step in to play the role of the masculine. Traditionally, in feminist readings, the masculine identity can be discovered by its subjugation and subordination of the feminine identity. Madeline is buried in the vault, making her symbolically subordinated, but in the end, it is she who buries Roderick: â€Å"†¦with a low moaning cry, fell heavily upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated† (Poe 131). The first item of note is the fact that Roderick’s name is not mentioned once in his death scene. Roderick is placed in the passive part of the sentence, â€Å"upon the person of her brother,† rather than given an active death. His name is not mentioned, instead he is listed as the brother of Madeline. He is also noted as being a victim, a position often associated with the feminine. Here, Roderick is not only stripped of identity of his own, but is made the passive victim of a violent force against him. The idea of Madeline as a violent or at least controlling force over Roderick is used in the somewhat popular vampire theory. Lyle Kendall discusses this theory and cites examples from the text to help prove it. He suggests that Roderick asks the narrator to come to the house to aid him in the destruction of his oppressor, the vampire, Madeline (451). J. O. Bailey goes into more depth, citing the history and mythology behind the vampire theory. He, however, notes that both of the twins seem to exhibit traits of one who has been attacked by a vampire, but that Madeline was the one whose body is inhabited by a vampiric entity (Bailey 458). Vampires in stories have been male and female –there is no prescription for the sex of these mythological creatures. The idea of the vampire, though, of one who comes and sucks the life out of others fits the mold for a control aspect. The masculine identity is the controlling identity, and if Madeline is indeed a vampire, then she becomes that controlling identity; Madeline becomes the oppressor and Roderick the oppressed. Another supposedly masculine trait is the sense of structure and order. Robinson brings the dichotomy of order/disorder into play in his formalist reading of the short story in his essay â€Å"Order and Sentience in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. † Robinson writes, â€Å"[t]he progress of the story sees Usher, his house, and his sister Madeline changing from an organized to a disorganized state, until finally all sink together† (69). Robinson also brings to light the notion that Madeline’s physical senses dim through the story while Usher’s heighten (75). Roderick becomes more sensitive where his sister becomes less so. Their traits become intermingled, masculine and feminine twisting their positions to the opposite sex until finally it all comes back together into a union. The final union between the masculine and the feminine is the destruction of the house, according to Robinson, when the house and the story fall into a state of disorganization. The final scene in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† seems to be a culmination of all that is feminine within the work. Roderick sits and listens to his favorite romantic story, â€Å"Mad Trist,† which brings the feminine back into the plot. During this reading, Roderick comes into a position to speak against the narrator, for the narrator, when he calls him a â€Å"madman,† and reveals Madeline standing outside the door. When Madeline appears for her final scene, her coup de grace, she is in her burial shroud with blood on her, a symbol of rebirth. The walking symbol of the feminine falls upon Usher, who without a fight, falls to the ground, and the two die. The narrator flees the fall of the house of Usher, and watches as the house behind him is mysteriously destroyed. The story comes together, finally, with a seeming grand finale of femininity. Symbols, romanticism, disorganization, all of those ideals that have been attributed to feminism culminate. But looking back once again on Roderick’s death, there is the passivity. Madeline, in the midst of this fantastic moment of feminine symbolism, takes on the role of a masculine identity, pressing Roderick beneath her and putting him into a passive state. Are the symbols enough for this story to triumph over masculine influence? Or has the narrator put his foot down on the final scene to ensure that some semblance of masculine oppressiveness remained in the story? Regardless of masculine or feminine traits, at the end of the story, as the world of the narrator collapses into romantic idealism, it is the woman, the female half of the Usher family, that finally oppresses the man. Madeline triumphs, but only when put into a masculine gender role. Leo Spitzer, author of â€Å"A Reinterpretation of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’,† also notes the near necessity for the two to die as one. He first shines light on the importance of Madeline, citing her as a deuteragonist and pointing out the eerie timing of her appearances, and he goes on to say that â€Å"Roderick and Madeline, twins chained to each other by incestuous love, suffering separately but dying together, represent the male and the female principle in that decaying family whose members, by the law of sterility and destruction which rules them, must exterminate each other† (352). They do destroy one another at the end, leaving the narrator to escape. And, as Jordan points out, the narrator gets the last word, â€Å"for his final act of ‘sentencing’ is to dispatch Madeline and her too-familiar twin into the ‘silent tarn,’ out of mind and out of language one last time† (12). Despite this triumphant climax for Madeline and Roderick, the narrator clings tightly to his story. The narrator, or storyteller, in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† fights for control over the characters within the story, both female and feminine. He takes on, ultimately, the role of masculinity. Whether, within the house, Madeline was oppressed or Roderick was matters very little –their aspects were in sync with on another and bound to come together eventually. But their ultimate victory and freedom from the masculine narrator is achieved only in their deaths, and the storyteller condemns the last vestiges of the feminine. In this story at least, the victory of femininity is short-lived and ultimately futile. Works Cited Bailey, J. O. What Happens in the Fall of the House of Usher? American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 35. (1964): 445-66. Benoit, Raymond. Poes the Fall of the House of Usher. Explicator 58. 2 (2000): 79-81. Hoeveler, Diane Long. The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in the Fall of the House of Usher. Studies in Short Fiction 29. 3 (1992): 385-95. Jordan, Cynthia S. Poes Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story. American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 59. 1 (1987): 1-19. Kendall, Lyle H. ,Jr. The Vampire Motif in the Fall of the House of Usher. College English 24. 6 (1963): 450-3. May, Leila S. Sympathies of a Scarcely Intelligible Nature: The Brother-Sister Bond in Poes Fall of the House of Usher. Studies in Short Fiction 30. 3 (1993): 387-96. Robinson, E. Arthur. Order and Sentience in the Fall of the House of Usher. PMLA 76. 1 (1961): 68-81. . Spitzer, Leo. A Reinterpretation of the Fall of the House of Usher. Comparative Literature 4. 4 (1952): 351-63. . Timmerman, John H. House of Mirrors: Edgar Allan Poes the Fall of the House of Usher. Papers on Language and Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature 39. (2003): 227-44. Voloshin, Beverly R. Poes the Fall of the House of Usher. Explicator 46. 3 (1988): 13-5. Works Referenced Obuchowski, Peter. Unity of Effect in Poes the Fall of the House of Usher. Studies in Short Fiction 12 (1975): 407-12. . Peeples, Scott. Poes Constructiveness and the Fall of the House of Usher. The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 2002. 178-190. Stein, William Bysshe. The Twin Motif in the Fall of the House of Usher. Modern Language Notes 75. 2 (1960): 109-11. .

Personal Essay on Eating Disorders †Health

Personal Essay on Eating Disorders – Health Free Online Research Papers Personal Essay on Eating Disorders Health I have very strong feelings about many of the topics we discuss in class. One topic I can personally relate to is eating disorders. So many people want to be super model skinny and not work out to achieve it. Eating disorders are so common, because it is easier to skip a couple of meals than it is to go to the gym for an hour every day. The media plays a large role in the way women want to look. Characters and models in advertisements, movies, and T.V. shows are always very fit or very skinny. Super models are especially skinny, and all have the same body type. All models are around six foot tall and very flat chested. Every woman compares herself to these women, and wants to look just like them. Most models and actresses have very serious eating problems. I never realized how much an eating disorder could control your life, until I had one. I never worried about weight until I started hanging out with a lot of girls. Girls have big impressions on other girls. When I made the cheerleading squad was when everything started. Just like sports players were in competition for the best player, our squad was in competition for who could be the skinniest and prettiest. If you were the skinniest and prettiest you were more likely to be popular. A lot of girls, including myself, on the squad were either anorexic or bulimic. Both disorders are equally bad but very different. I started to become anorexic at the very beginning of the season. Our coach was very supportive of all of her cheerleaders, and worked our butts off to try and get us in the best shape we could be in. For me, exercise was not enough. I started to get into drugs to lose weight. I started on the diet pills, which cut my appetite in half. The diet pills and the exercise combined were still not working fast enough for me, so I began to experiment with cocaine. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t care, because I was losing weight faster than I had ever before. At the beginning of the season I weighed 130 pounds and within two months I was down to 100 pounds. At this point from the drugs I had lost any appetite I had and I was only eating two crackers a day. A twenty-ounce bottle of water would fill my stomach and sometimes push my belly out. I was so dissatisfied with myself when I would look in the mirror. My thighs were always too big or my tummy wasn’t flat en ough. I was never going to achieve Cindy Crawford’s body and still never will. I was the perfect stereotype, for an anorexic woman. I was very driven in every thing I did. I felt I needed to have control over everything and everyone around me. I felt I was slipping and letting the drugs control me, and my eating was something I could control. My self-esteem got very low and I started to become depressed. I got so bad I was to the point to where my period would start to skip a couple of months and then come back every once in a while. My boyfriend was the first to confront me about my problem. I didn’t want anyone’s help, because I felt I didn’t have a problem. One day at work I passed out in the middle of taking someone’s order and an ambulance rushed me to the hospital. The doctors could tell my body was so undernourished that they told my parents I was twenty pounds under weight and I needed to see a specialist or be checked in to a clinic. I freaked my self out when I woke up in a hospital bed and eventually with the help of my friends and family I began to gradually start eating and getting nutrients in my body. I quit cheerleading because of all the pressure to stay thin. Bulimia is another eating disorder that is very serious in our society. People who have problems with bulimia have different characteristics than people dealing with anorexia. People who are very outgoing and promiscuous are more likely to be bulimic. Bulimia is when a person has frequent episodes of binge eating and pukes after meals. Bulimia is very dangerous because it destroys your stomach lining, gives you very bad breath, and could give you ulcers in your esophagus. This disorder is a little harder to detect because the person can usually maintain a normal, steady body weight. Women who are bulimic often take laxatives to lose a couple of pounds quick. Weight and appearance isn’t only a problem in the female gender. Eating disorders seem to be getting more common in men as time goes on. The media shows men in a whole different light. The exact opposite is expected from men than what is expected from women. Men are supposed to look strong and muscular, the bigger the better. I don’t personally like a very muscular man; I would rather have someone I could cuddle with, not someone who feels like a rock. In Conclusion, Eating disorders are becoming more common everyday. In my opinion I think that beautiful is not one shape or size it is the way you present yourself. Women and men in the old days weren’t all skinny, take Marylyn Monroe for example, she was a size 7/8 and one of the most beautiful and most admired women in the world. This subject can be very depressing to talk about, but is something a lot of people deal with every day. Research Papers on Personal Essay on Eating Disorders - HealthTrailblazing by Eric AndersonHip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Hockey GameEffects of Television Violence on Children19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind Travel

How to Write a Book Report A Proven Step-by-Step Instruction

How to Write a Book Report A Proven Step-by-Step Instruction Writing a book report is a relatively easy assignment. This type of writing is believed to be common for K-12 students and is more of a technical assignment requiring narration and summing up of book contents. Book reports don’t usually require in-depth analysis and serve primarily to hone students’ writing skills and help them learn to structure information properly. Book report format consists of three major elements: introduction, body, and conclusion. TOP 25 BOOK REPORT IDEAS The next step is to provide in-depth analysis of the characters, plot, themes, motives etc. Generally, if you come up with a book report while you were asked for a book review, you’re in trouble and your grade is very likely to go down. The opposite situation is less harmful, however still undesirable. Therefore you need to pay close attention to what you are required to write and stick to the assignment criteria if you want to succeed. To demonstrate how to write a book report, let’s take some simple piece of writing and prepare a book report based on our easy 10 step book report template. For greater convenience, let’s try to write a book report based on the short story â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† by O’Henry. Book Report Outline: Sample Book Report What is the title of the book? Who is the author of the book? When was the book written? Who was it published by? What kind of literature is it? The â€Å"Gift of the Magi† is a short story by O’Henry that was first published on December 10, 1906, in the New York Sunday World Magazine. The short story was written when O’Henry’s popularity was at its peak, and despite its literary shortcomings, has enjoyed long literary life for more than a century. Characters The two main characters in this story are Jim and Della, a young married couple, who is going through times of financial difficulty. Brief Plot Summary The story unfolds on the day before Christmas and we find both spouses wanting to make Christmas gifts to each other, but being unable to afford them. Della has gorgeous hair and decides to cut and sell it in order to buy Jim a chain that he could use for his pocket watch. Jim too, looking for a way to buy a Christmas gift for his beloved wife, decides to sell his watch and buy Della a set of hair combs. Jim and Della learn that both had to sacrifice their most precious belongings. O’Henry compares them to the Magi, who put each other’s interests higher than their own, making sacrifices in the name of their loved ones. Themes The main themes of this short story are love, sacrifice, money. This is a short book report sample that shows how to write a book report. It might differ depending on your school and your professor. If you have a model book report and you need help with it, we will happily help you to work through it. is available 24/7 for all customer inquiries. Just place an order right now and we will gladly help you.

Leadership and Talent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 26

Leadership and Talent - Essay Example As the paper declares the human resource department did not consider it as essential, but in current times it is essential to address issues of talent because it is linked with creativity. Creativity of the workers can be improved through nurturing of their individual talents and encouraging them to develop the necessary skills for exploitation of their talents   From this paper it is clear that some talents may require the use of other skills. These skills are vital because they ensure the talent is visible. Talent leadership and strategic talent leadership are vital in the ear because it encourages the development of the talent with the organization or setting. The current situation of leadership discourages the development of the necessary skills in all the other sectors. Leadership and talents have often been misrepresented or mismatched leading to poor understanding of the role of leadership in management. Talent leadership ensures that employees in an organization are able to use their respective area of operation improving the performance and encouraging the development of the necessary skills and training. This study highlights that for a leader to become a successful talent leader, he must be able to change focus from self to managing others. To manage others, the leader must develop the necessary public relations as well as the relationship with the employees to be able to offer guidance even in issues that are deemed not effective or personal issues. The value of a talent manager is to bring to an organization the necessary skills and improve performance of the people he or she is managing. Leadership in this context involves behaviour and not a position or title. In the current set up, the individual contribution of the manager does not count. To achieve success, the manager must be able to develop a cycle of values that can create ripples throughout the organization.  

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Management - Essay Example The human resources available to an organization have a key strategic role in acquiring, implementing and maintaining a competitive strategy. Supervisors, trainers and developers play a pivotal role in improving the transfer of training by communicating their support for potential learning. The attitude and responses of supervisors, peers and trainers to the trainee can either hurt or help the whole process. The action taken by these partners before, during and after the training directly affects the likelihood that transfer will occur properly. Although organizations spend a lot of time and money on employees’ training annually, there exists no significant relationship between learning and actual job performance. However, when the learned skills are successfully transferred into effective performance, organizations can surely produce better outcomes. As the technological, economic, social and political environment is in a state of continual flux, it is critical for learning o rganizations to adjust and adapt to the dynamic market trends. Over the last decade, the role of trainers and developers has changed in an increasingly integrated world where phones, internet and improvements in infrastructure have progressively changed relationships. The pace of development is so rapid that even trained experts are unable to regulate, monitor and control its impacts properly. What may be regarded as a cultural shift in many organizations, trainers and developers need to adopt a different attitude towards their own involvement in organizations. Such prevailing market conditions also make it imperative that trainers and developers play a more active role in communicating the benefits of training and dealing with the performance problems. This paper attempts to investigate as to how and why has the role of trainers and developers changed in the last ten years. The study will also suggest future developments in the changing role of trainers and developers. Finally, the conclusion will analyze factors influencing the change and suggest effective measures for further improvements. Theory For decades, training and development of human resources is believed to have key strategic importance in determining the organization’s overall performance. As a field, training and development is considered to have evolved during the industrial revolution in America. In the present era of globalization, technological expansions have diversified the traditional role played by trainers and developers. According to a survey, a trainer these days assumes the job of a â€Å"corporate trainer, performance practitioner, lecturer, OD specialist, performance analyst, training leader, employee development specialist, operations improvement coordinator, leadership training associate, training sergeant, and continuous learning and improvement coach at the same time† (ASTD, 1996). From 2000 onwards, the role has become even more versatile with the industrial inte gration and advent of various technological aids. As the term suggests, human resource development is itself â€Å"the process of moving from one place to another, a process that we normally count as ‘change’

Analysis Aqualisa Quartz Essay Example for Free

Analysis Aqualisa Quartz Essay Every company dreams that one day they can bring something unique and very competitive, and use it to dominate the market. But things might not be as easy as they thought. In Aqualisa case, Harry Rawlinson, managing director of Aqualisa, gives us an example that even with new significant shower product Quartz, which seems to be perfect in every aspect, they cannot make a relative progress in U.K. shower market. Quartz is designed to solve all the troubles that exist in U. K. showers. It provides efficient and reliable water pressure and temperature, needs less space in bathroom, has a stylish looking and is easy to use and install. Although Quartz leaps all other showers, the initial sales results turned to be gloomy, as Rawlinson said â€Å"For some reason, it simply wasn’t selling†. To reveal these â€Å"reasons†, we will first look at the general shower market status, and then we will analysis two main factors that cause Quart fail in initial Sales: Quart itself and Plumber. Finally, we will examine Aqualisa’s marketing strategy and find out what is the right thing to do. Shower market in U.K. The U.K. shower market has 3 distribution channels, 3 buyer segments, and 2 Special roles: Plumber and Developer. To give a brief summary, we will use some charts to demonstrate characteristics of these elements, and use it for latter discussions. As we can see, Quartz has 61% in Rate of return (manufacturer) and 47% in Rate of return (retailer), which is not the highest among other products. And we notice that Aquavalve Value, which is in value segment, and Aquaforce 1. 0/1. 5 Bar, which is in Standard segment, have higher Rate of return, but these product sold well in lower segments. Thus Quartz cannot be blamed for overprice, at least it was no more expensive than Aqualisa’s other product. Besides, if we consider the installation cost that saved by Quartz (2 days to half day, with 40-80/hour), Quartz is even cheaper. So either the price was not the reason, or the price was misunderstood. Consumer could be blinded by Quartz’s high retail price and ignore its relatively high produce cost. Besides, Aqualisa â€Å"was generally recognized as having top quality showers, a premium brand, and great service†, that reputation could make consumers form the idea that Quartz is just another premium product which is not cost-effective. This misjudgment of Quartz’s value is the true reason that Quartz was not accepted in lower market. Thus lower Quartz’s price would have less result if the misconception remains unchanged. To solve this problem, Aqualisa need more effort to spread the idea that Quartz is economical and practical. Quartz’s former advertisement plan shows most of its progressiveness, like the picture in Exhibit-9, they list all the priorities, make it even more like a premium product. They need to give some economy features such as the cost of installation, the durability of Quartz’s parts, Quartz’s life time budget etc, and compare Quartz’s features with traditional showers, to remind consumers that Quartz values for their money. Plumber, Friend or Foe? Plumber is an important role in shower market. Exhibit-4 shows that about 73% shower selection are influenced by Plumbers. Yet Plumbers are â€Å"wary of innovation, particularly any innovation involving electronics†, AKA Quartz. The negative impact of Plumber’s attitude is obvious, and even Aqualisa calling â€Å"face-to-face introduce and explain the new product† to their â€Å"very loyal† plumbers, nothing changed in short term. Rawlinson was so desperate to plumbers that he thought about abandon plumbers and target consumers directly. Considering the plumbers’ high clout in current market share, and Aqualisa already have high market share (70%) in Do-It-Yourself Sheds which target consumer directly, give up plumbers would be ineffective and useless. Rather than evade the issue, let’s face it straight: Why Plumbers oppose Quartz and how to change it. The main reason that plumbers reject innovation derived from risk aversion. Because â€Å"unfamiliar products could present unknown performance problems†, which will make plumbers pay money and time to adjust. Former failure case like â€Å"push-button† controls in 1980s had Strengthened plumbers’ stubborn. But Quartz has no substantive contradiction with plumbers, on the contrary, it’s easy to install and operate that could give plumbers substantial benefits. As a matter of fact, Plumbers who â€Å"puts one in†, becomes â€Å"convert†. Thus Plumbers’ prejudice will disappear by time. By saying â€Å"Adoption is a long, slow process† Pestell, Aqualisa national sales manager, did not realize that they do have some ways to speed up the process. In fact, it seems that Aqualisa did not consider plumbers as a distinct important part in their sales. They barely treat plumbers like consumers or retailers, told plumbers how excellent or advanced Quartz is. But what they should do is telling how good Quartz will do to the plumbers themselves. They could show plumbers the contradistinctions in installing Quartz and traditional showers, and emphasize that Quartz will make their daily two days work to half day, reduce both their work intensity and work time. With this advantage, plumbers can do more jobs and be better off in more income. Aqualisa can also give more samples to plumbers or pay non-loyal plumbers to install Quartz to clear former haze of electronics. With focused promotion plan, Aqualisa will make plumbers realize Quartz is favorable, and turn them into steady alliance. Strategy, Breakthrough or Mark time? Aqualisa’s former strategy is Steady and comprehensive. They joined every segments of market and provided their products in all distribution channels. Their current core product is Aquavalve 609, and they had been in the upper level in the market share (â€Å"number two in mixing valves and number three in the overall UK shower market†), only surpass by Triton and Mira (Exhibit-2). When Quartz joins the family, it did not have a clear position among other siblings. Actually, Aqualisa showed no clear expectations in Quartz’s performance. They just spread it to whole market and hope it can dominate. This pointless strategy makes them unconscious to the market response thus they make no effective action when sales encountered difficulties. Even if their final target is the whole market, they could build milestones and interim objectives like enter the high-end market then extend to lower market or simplify the product to catch the lower market with low price then release advance model to premium user. Either way, the company should have a more specific positioning and targeting plan to meet the company’s expectation. Despite the former marketing strategy, Aqualisa now need to decide their next move. Rawlinson showed his trepidation that Aqualisa, which is profitable with its current products, may not be willing to take the risk of promoting Quartz. The risk comes from two sides: first, the development of Quartz has already spent 5. 8 million and three years times, further promotion could cost 3-4 million more. It’s hard to stay profitable with this huge investment. Second, the Quartz has competition effect with company’s Cash Cow product: Aquavalve, which also put company’s stable market share and benefit in uncertainty. The risk of launching new products is inevitable, but is it possible that Aqualisa can sit back, relax and enjoy its current benefit? As we learn from Exhibit-2 (U. K. Market Share Data 2000), Aqualisa, had 18. 1% market share in total units sold, while Triton and Mira were 30. 3% and 21. 7%. In the Electric Showers category, which Aqualisa sold most, the market share was 16. 9% while Triton had 43. 5%. And in Mixer showers category, where core product Aquavalve 609 rest, the market share was 20. 8% while Mira had 36. 4%. With these figure, we cannot say Aqualisa is in a safe place. They did not have domination in any part of the market, and there were significant gap between Aqualisa and market leader. With more than one competitor, Aqualisa could easily be replaced and fall into masses. At this situation, even promoting new product could cost a fortune, Aqualisa still need a breakthrough and Quartz is just what the company need. On the other hand, the existing market structure gives Quartz sufficient space to outspread. If Quartz is good enough to assault Aquavalve 609’s sale, it could also shake the leader position of Triton and Mira’s products. If Quartz is, as Rawlinson said, â€Å"first significant product innovation in the U. K. shower market since forever†, it will beat down others company’s products and increase Aqualisa’s market share, and not only in U. K. market, it can move forward to European markets or global markets, then the current promotion cost would be unremarkable. But if Aqualisa give up Quartz, the opportunity cost would be too big to accept. Rawlinson’s worry will become true: â€Å"In five years’ time, someone else will have got the world market for this technology†. Then the Aqualisa’s experiences would be competitors’ field test and its former investment would contribute to other’s benefit. Conclusion People usually consider that finding the goose is the hard part, but in fact, make the goose laid golden eggs is also not easy. Aqualisa holds its goose named Quartz, and shows us such an example. This case also told us it’s not only about what we have, it’s more about how to connect everything together, including product (Quartz), customer, collaborator (plumber), market, make right decisions and build relationships.

Teacher Expectations and Education Essay example -- Education Teaching

Teacher Expectations and Education One thing I’ve learned this year is that teachers must always strive to adapt to the wide range of individual student abilities, learning styles, and interests even within a single class, but still maintain reasonable expectations, especially if tracking is present in the school. Through my observations, it seems that teacher expectations for students became increasingly lower with each "track." Furthermore, minority, low socioeconomic status and learning support students most frequently appear, in the lower tracks. The low expectations in these classes may be reflected in the students as they leave the school and attempt to function in society. Research by NCTE suggests that ability tracking is detrimental to some groups of students and to many individual students. I will be exploring how low expectations may cause inappropriate behaviors, lack of interest in subject matter, and resistance to learning and how tracking exacerbates these problems. I think it is important, as I discuss expectations in different tracks, to show the composition of students that make up each of the classes that I observed and taught, as it appears that minority, low SES, and learning support students tend to make up the lower tracks. I remember feeling; both shock and surprise when I learned that State College still practices a form of tracking, but Regular, College Prep, and Advanced English seemed pretty harmless at first. The distinct difference between the curriculum and "types" of students from level to level, particularly from Regular to College Prep is what soon began to catch my interest. I should first point out that in the 9th and 10th grades there are only two tracks, Regular and Advanced. Juniors ... ... artwork.† I truly believe (and I’m sure this will be worked out of me at some point) that the moment a teacher says or even thinks that a student is incapable of some task, that is the moment that the student becomes incapable. So what’s the solution to being sensitive to student needs, yet not single them out, labeling, or lowering expectations? Maybe the CTI has some value. Why not simply have two tracks, Regular/College Prep and Advanced (as researched by The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented Learner does show that gifted students benefit from tracking) but keep the CTI model of two teachers collaborating in some way and smaller class sizes? With fewer students, teachers would have more time to give individualized help without labeling or segregating certain students and it is less likely that expectations would be lowered unnecessarily.

Affirmative Action Avoiding Racial Discrimination

In recent times, virtually every great political leader has recognized the truth of affirmative action. But, what is affirmative action one might ask? According to Merriam-Webster†s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition: â€Å"an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women.† In the United States, these minority groups include African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Alaskan Natives, and immigrants. In general, affirmative action is intended to benefit groups that are thought to have suffered from discrimination. However, critics argue that some groups benefit from affirmative action because of their political influence. In this essay, I will show that quotas and mandatory preferences not only violate our rights as individual citizens, but also are unnecessary, and why they should be abolished. The term affirmative action was first used in an order issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 that required businesses with U.S. government contracts to treat their employees without regard to race, ethnic origin, religion, or gender. However, later on the government asked the businesses to consider the race and gender of their employees to ensure that the mix of people on their staffs reflected the mix in the local work force. In addition, a fixed share of federal contracts were set aside for businesses owned by women or minorities. Many state and local governments, as well as numerous businesses and schools, created their own affirmative-action programs. Since the 1970's, controversy over affirmative action has developed. People disaccord about how to achieve the goal of nondiscrimination. Even though, some claim temporary preferences are necessary to achieve equality, others believe quotas, mandatory preferences, and other affirmative action policies unfairly affect the right of individuals to be treated according to their abilities. People also disagree about which groups are entitled to affirmative action and for how long (LaNoue). The reasons used by proponents like redressing past injustice and educational diversity are not proper and they harm the society instead of helping it to prosper (Puddington 70-83). Affirmative action in the United States is meant to provide jobs for blacks in formerly closed fields. Correcting a past injustice is admirable, but requiring an employer to provide black faces in order to fill a quota is unfair both to employers and to employees. It puts productivity at risk, as well as the self-esteem and potential for personal growth for those who are being helped (Almasi 4). Proponents also consider that educational diversity is an important reason behind affirmative action and giving preferences to minority students in schools is a way of achieving it. But the preferences remove from bad schools any incentive to improve, since their students are guaranteed places in good colleges irrespective of their own standards (O†Sullivan 22). In fact, to bring onto college campuses students whose academic abilities have been severely damaged by the conditions in which they have been forced to learn would be a recipe for failure (Carter 438). All these students need is a training to be successful in the real world and not just a push, favor, or preference that will force them into being a failure later on. The proponents suggest changing the race-based affirmative action into the class-based affirmative action that would not arouse any hostility. But it makes very little sense in an area of admission to colleges, universities, and professional schools. We already have a huge and expensive system of federal loans to make it possible for those without parental or their own income to get higher education. One can imagine covering all costs for higher education for everyone, it would be immense. The only effect of preference on ground of class could be to increase the number of poor whites and Asians in institutions of higher education, and to reduce the number of blacks (Glazer 444-45). Class-based program would only serve the most disadvantaged Americans. But this solution is not as simple as it may sound. A form of reverse discrimination would still occur, and there would be â€Å"victims† who are â€Å"passed over† regardless of how well they qualified for the school or job (Guernsey 95). Therefore, class-based affirmative action would not help all the minorities in achieving a higher education. As one climbs toward professional success, at some point the preferences must fall away entirely. When the student has shown what he or she can do, the rationale for a preference at the next level is slimmer. So, an even slighter affirmative action preference for professional school admission, while possibly justified on similar grounds, is less important, and a little bit harder to defend, than a program at the college level (Carter 440). Also, a person who has good college achievement does not need to depend on any favor in order to be successful in future. †¦affirmative action has always been what might be called iconographic public policy – policy that ostensibly exists to solve a social problem but actually, functions as an icon for the self-image people hope to gain by supporting the policy (Steele 441). In the quote, Steele means that affirmative action appears to solve the inequality, but instead it makes people see how unequal they actually are. The deleteriousness of an iconographic social policy is that one cannot be against it without appearing to be against what it intends to represent. The white man who opposes affirmative action looks like a racist and the black looks like an Uncle Tom. This kind of policies cause to last indefinitely by hiding behind what they represent.(442). The central idea of compensation behind the affirmative action is no longer justifiable. Many people have realized that even though affirmative action has been successful and beneficiary in the past, but today it has completely lost it purpose to compensate the hurt ones and instead has raised racial tensions. It had many adverse affects on the society over last few decades and people have seen enough of them to finally raise their voice against it. One example of this could be the public poll in which 54 percent of the respondents favored the affirmative action as being good for the country. But when affirmative action was outlined as â€Å"mandatory preferences,† 75 percent of them resisted it. The reason behind this reaction is that people consider quotas as an infringement of the ideal that people should be judged as individuals, not as members of a group (Rottenberg 435). In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a federal program requiring preference based on a person's race is unconstitutional unless the preference is designed to make up for specific instances of past discrimination. This meant that affirmative action could no longer be used to counteract racial discrimination by society as a whole, but must be aimed at eliminating specific problems. In 1989, the court had made a similar decision regarding state and local programs. In addition, a federal court in March 1996 ruled against a race-based admissions policy at the University of Texas Law School (LaNoue). Undoubtedly, through different court decisions and public outrage one can see why preference is wrong, intrinsically unjust, ethically confuse. It is moreover socially counterproductive: damaging to those who practice it, injurious to the society in which it breeds, and above all cruelly hurtful to the minorities who were to have helped by it (Cohen 459). No sound principles, constitutional or moral justify discriminating by race or sex to achieve some predetermined numerical distribution of goods. The defense of preferences fails because it contradicts the equal treatment of individual persons that fair process demand (457). Time has come for us to take a good look at the notion of affirmative action. We can stop it from increasing racial tensions, barriers, unconstitutional favors, and hostility or we can wait, not take action against it and suffer its destructive consequences in future. It is a choice we have to make right now before it is too late.

Marketing New Product Essay

Introduction: This case is largely based on Vanessa O’Connell, â€Å"Food for Thought: How Campbell Saw a Breakthrough Menu Turn into Leftovers, the goals we need to reach is to gain the understanding of this company, why they can get the innovation and how they can manage it, also we can learn the experience of this company. The back ground of the company: In 1990, Campbell Soup was the undisputed leader among U.S. soup manufacturers, with a market share of over 75 percentages. Soup consumption, however, was levelling off, and top management was looking for opportunities for growth in related markets. Competitors such as ConAgra (Healthy Choice brand) and H. J. Heinz (Weight Watchers brand) were making sizeable sales and profit gains in their frozen foods lines, stressing their dietary benefits, and this seemed like a good place for Campbell to begin generating new product ideas. Innovation plan: At that era, the U.S. public was becoming more interested in the relationships which are between diet and disease prevention. No requires, no supplies. The Vanessa O’Connell’s focusing on foods that could be used to prevent illnesses such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease (including high blood pressure). Description of Industry: Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB), also known as Campbell’s, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell’s products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered [2] in Camden, New Jersey. Campbell’s divides itself into three divisions: the simple meals division, which consists largely of soups both condensed and ready-to-serve, the baked snacks division, which consists of Pepperidge Farm, and the health beverage division, which includes V8 juices. Marketing Plan: The Company using the differentiated strategy not only provide the common things but also provide the sophisticated products and services in order to feet most of the customers. Soon enough, the rough idea had been generated: a line of foods with medical benefits. The rough idea now needed to be further developed. Organizational plan: The challenge was to develop a food line that not only played a role in the prevention of these diseases, but also would be accepted and adopted by the U.S. population, Campbell’s CEO at the time, David W. Johnson, was 100 percentages behind the food-with-medical benefits idea, this innovation cause the company goes to a high-profit product. The key to success: The Campbell food technologists found this a challenging task—one of the early prototype fibber-enriched rolls â€Å"could have been marketed as a hockey puck,† according to Macnair. By fall 1994, however, about 24 meals that passed early taste tests were ready for clinical trials to determine health benefits. Over 500 subjects ate the meals for 10 weeks, and most reported improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. None experienced side effects, and many reported they liked the taste. Meanwhile, Mr Johnson created Campbell’s Centre for Nutrition and Wellness, based in the Camden, New Jersey, head office and employing 30 nutrition scientists and dieticians. Next the company came the market test. Campbell marketing staff selected the name â€Å"Intelligent Quinine† (or IQ Meals), and a blue box or can for packaging. The plan was for UPS drivers to deliver 21 meals (mostly frozen, a few in cans) each week to test subjects’ doors. By January 1997, the product was being test marketed in Ohio, backed up with a print ad campaign and a 10-minute infomercial designed to stimulate toll-free calls to Campbell’s information line. Critical Risks: By May 1997, sales in the Ohio market test were dismal, and another problem was arising. Those that had stuck with the program since January were showing health benefits, but now many of them were reporting that they were getting tired of the same nine meals over and over again. Conclusion: The fate of IQ Meals was sealed in a corporate shakeup at Campbell in July 1997. By fall 1997, Campbell announced plans to sell IQ Meals. For using the correct strategy, in 2012, Campbell announced plans to buy Bolthouse Farms, a maker of juices, salad dressings and baby carrots, for $1.55 billion. Analysts saw this as an attempt to reach younger, more affluent consumers.

Gandhis Salt March of 1930

Gandhi's Salt March of 1930 What Was Gandhis Salt March? The much-publicized, 24-day, 240-mile Salt March began on March 12, 1930, when 61-year-old Mohandas Gandhi led an ever-growing group of followers from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea at Dandi, India. Upon arriving at the beach in Dandi on the morning of April 6, 1930, loincloth-clad Gandhi reached down and scooped up a lump of salt and held it high. This was the beginning of a country-wide boycott of the salt tax, imposed upon the people of India by the British Empire. The Salt March, also known as the Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, became a prime example of the power of Gadhis  satyagraha, passive resistance, which ultimately led to India’s independence 17 years later. Why a Salt March? The manufacture of salt in India was a government monopoly established in 1882. Though salt could be obtained from the sea, it was a crime for any Indian to possess salt without having purchased it from the government. This ensured that the government could collect a salt tax. Gandhi proposed that every Indian refuse to pay the tax by making or purchasing illicit salt. Not paying the salt tax would be a form of passive resistance without increasing hardship for the people. Salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), was an important staple in India. Vegetarians, as many Hindus were, needed to add salt to food for their health since they did not get much salt naturally from their food. Salt was often needed for religious ceremonies. Salt also was used for its power to heal, preserve food, disinfect, and embalm. All of this made salt a powerful emblem of resistance. Since everyone needed salt, this would be a cause that Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians could all jointly participate in. Landless peasants as well as merchants and landowners would benefit if the tax were lifted.   The salt tax was something that every Indian could oppose. British Rule For 250 years, the British had dominated the Indian sub-continent. At first it was the British East India Company that forced its will on the native population, but in 1858, the Company turned over its role to the British Crown. Until independence was granted to India in 1947, Great Britain exploited India’s resources and imposed an often brutal rule. The British Raj (rule) improved infrastructure to the land, including the introduction of railroads, roads, canals, and bridges, but these were to aid in the export of Indias raw materials, carrying India’s wealth to the mother country. The influx of British goods into India prevented the establishment of small industries within India. In addition, the British levied heavy taxes on various goods. Overall, England imposed a brutal rule in order to protect its own trade interests. Mohandas Gandhi and the INC wanted to end British rule and bring about India’s independence. Indian National Congress (INC) The Indian National Congress (INC), founded in 1885, was a body made up of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsi, and other minorities. As the largest and most prominent Indian public organization, it was central to the movement for independence. Gandhi served as president in the early 1920s. Under his leadership, the organization expanded, becoming more democratic and eliminating distinctions based on caste, ethnicity, religion, or sex. In December of 1928, the Indian National Congress passed a resolution asking for self-rule within the year. Otherwise, they would demand complete independence and would fight for it with satyagraha, non-violent non-cooperation.   By December 31, 1929, the British government had not responded, so action was needed. Gandhi proposed opposing the salt tax. In a Salt March, he and his followers would walk to the sea and make some illegal salt for themselves. This would begin a country-wide boycott, with hundreds of thousands breaking the salt laws by making, gathering, selling, or buying salt without British permission. The key to the struggle was non-violence. Gandhi declared that his followers must not be violent or he would halt the march. A Warning Letter to the Viceroy On March 2, 1930, Gandhi wrote a letter to Viceroy Lord Irwin. Beginning with â€Å"Dear Friend,† Gandhi went on to explain why he viewed British rule as a â€Å"curse† and outlined some of the more flagrant abuses of the administration. These included obscenely high salaries for British officials, taxes on alcohol and salt, the outlandish land revenue system, and the importation of foreign cloth. Gandhi warned that unless the viceroy was willing to make changes, he was going to begin a massive program of civil disobedience. He added that he wished to convert the British people to nonviolence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India. The viceroy responded to Gandhi’s letter, but offered no concessions. It was time to prepare for the Salt March. Preparing for the Salt March The first thing needed for the Salt March was a route, so several of Gandhi’s trusted followers planned both their path and their destination. They wanted the Salt March to go through villages where Gandhi could promote sanitation, personal hygiene, abstention from alcohol, as well as the end of child marriages and untouchability. Since hundreds of followers would be marching with Gandhi, he sent an advance team of satyagrahis (followers of satyagraha) to help the villages along the path prepare, making sure that food, sleeping space, and latrines were ready. Reporters from around the world were keeping tabs on the preparations and the walk. When Lord Irwin and his British advisers learned the specifics of the plan, they found the idea ridiculous. They hoped that the movement would die out if it was ignored. They began arresting Gandhis lieutenants, but not Gandhi himself. On the Salt March At 6:30 a.m. on March 12, 1930, Mohandas Gandhi, 61 years old, and 78 dedicated followers began their trek from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. They resolved not to return until India was free of the oppression the British Empire imposed on the people. They wore sandals and clothes made of khadi, cloth woven in India. Each carried a woven bag containing a bedroll, a change of clothes, a journal, a takli for spinning, and a drinking mug. Gandhi had a bamboo staff. Progressing between 10 to 15 miles a day, they walked along dusty roads, through fields and villages, where they were greeted with flowers and cheers. Throngs joined the march until thousands were with him when he reached the Arabian Sea at Dandi. Although Gandhi had prepared for subordinates to continue if he were arrested, his arrest never came.   International press was reporting the progress, and had Gandhi been arrested along the way it would have increased the outcry against the Raj. When Gandhi feared the inaction of the government might dim the impact of the Salt March, he urged students to suspend their study and join him. He urged village headsmen and local officials to resign their posts. Some marchers broke down from fatigue, but, despite his age, Mahatma Gandhi stayed strong. Daily on the trek, Gandhi required each marcher to pray, spin, and keep a diary. He continued to write letters and news articles for his papers. At each village, Gandhi collected information about the population, educational opportunities, and land revenue. This gave him facts to report to his readers and to the British about the conditions he witnessed. Gandhi was determined to include untouchables, even washing and eating in their quarters rather than in the places where the high-caste reception committee expected him to stay. In a few villages this caused upset, but in others it was accepted, if somewhat reluctantly. On April 5, Gandhi reached Dandi. Early the following morning Gandhi marched to the sea in the presence of thousands of admirers. He walked down the beach and picked up a lump of natural salt from the mud. The people cheered and shouted Victory! Gandhi called on his companions to start collecting and making salt in an act of civil disobedience. The boycott of the salt tax had begun. The Boycott The boycott of the salt tax swept across the country. Salt was soon made, bought, and sold in hundreds of places across India. People along the coast gathered salt or evaporated sea water to obtain it. People away from the coast bought salt from illegal vendors. The boycott expanded when women, with Gandhis blessing, began picketing foreign cloth distributors and liquor shops. Violence broke out in a number of places, including Calcutta and Karachi, when police tried to stop the lawbreakers. Thousands of arrests were made but, surprisingly, Gandhi remained free. On May 4, 1930, Gandhi wrote another letter to Viceroy Irwin describing his plan for followers to seize the salt at the Salt Works in Dharasana.   However, before the letter could be posted, Gandhi was arrested early the next morning. Despite Gandhi’s arrest, the action was to continue with an alternate leader. At Dharasana on May 21, 1930, approximately 2,500 satyagrahis peacefully approached the Salt Works, but were brutally attacked by the British. Without even raising a hand in their defense, wave after wave of protesters were clubbed over the head, kicked in the groin, and beaten. Headlines around the world reported the bloodbath. An even larger mass action took place near Bombay on June 1, 1930, at the salt pans in Wadala. An estimated 15,000 people, including women and children, raided the salt pans, collecting handfuls and sackfuls of salt, only to be beaten and arrested.   Ã‚   In all, about 90,000 Indians were arrested between April and December 1930. Thousands more were beaten and killed. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact Gandhi remained in jail until January 26, 1931. Viceroy Irwin wanted to end the salt-tax boycott and thus began talks with Gandhi. Ultimately, the two men agreed to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. In exchange for an end to the boycott, Viceroy Irwin agreed that the Raj would release all the prisoners taken during the salt upheaval, allow residents of coastal areas to make their own salt, and allow non-aggressive picketing of shops selling liquor or foreign cloth. Since the Gandhi-Irwin Pact did not actually end the salt tax, many have questioned the efficacy of the Salt March. Others realize that the Salt March galvanized all Indians into wanting and working for independence and brought worldwide attention to their cause.

7 Step Guide to Making Your LinkedIn Profile Perfect [Infographic]

7 Step Guide to Making Your LinkedIn Profile Perfect [Infographic] You likely know that in order to find a job, it’s pretty much mandatory you have a LinkedIn profile. But navigating the ins and outs of the site can often lead to so much confusion that you throw your hands up, enter the bare minimum, and hope for the best. Don’t do that! Really- don’t squander the awesome opportunity gives you to create a brag sheet that will get you noticed. If you have no idea where and how to begin, check out this infographic by Leisurejobs  for a step-by-step primer on how to make the most of your LinkedIn profile and all it has to offer.

Original need for the Commerce Clause Research Paper

Original need for the Commerce Clause - Research Paper Example The original concrete programs that were targeted by the clause by giving Congress the authority to regulate commerce were, giving protection or subsidy to favored domestic merchants, restrictions on international trade and punishing foreign producers or imports. The cause was therefore adapted because of the need to nationalize tariffs on imports or state imposts (Gould, 1980). From this, it is evident that neither interstate commerce and trade with Indians was a significant issue in the clause’s original intend/debate. The often claims regarding the purpose of the clause is that it was meant to avert protectionist economic policies among all the US States and to launch common market characterized by free trade across the borders of all states. However, barriers on interstate commerce were not an issue in the original debates. As Johnson (2004) explains, the constitution was put down before Adam Smith with its meaning originating from the mercantilist tradition that existed then but free trade and laissez fair came to dominate the dominate economic thinking later on. Looking at the current description of the clause, it is clear that the Commerce Clause are not the proper descriptions of the original meaning and need of the