Introduction to Sociology

05/12/2011 Oana Cristina Merca Introduction to Sociological Themes and Perspectives The word â€Å"sociology† has its roots from the Latin â€Å"socius† which means â€Å"companion† and the Greek â€Å"ology† which means â€Å"the study of†. So basically, Sociology is one of the social sciences which aim is to explain human behaviour. Unlike Psychology, Sociology is much more concerned about social group’s behaviour including whole societies and even international and global groups. Of all the social sciences it is Sociology that most closely scrutinizes change and conflict in the wider society. The range of the discipline, and the importance of the arguments that are disputed within it, still make it the most exciting of the social sciences. However, it was not until the nineteenth century, as a consequence of industrial revolution, that we see a concern with society as a direct object of study. We could then determine, once and for all, what sort of social changes were possible. In its present form, Sociology embraces a range of different views concerning both what a social science should compromise, and what might be the proper subject-matter of Sociology in particular. The latter provides perhaps the best way of making sense of the discipline. This essay will explain, compare and contrast three of the main perspectives in Sociology: Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism. The founder of the Functionalism perspective was Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), whose theory was then further developed by Robert Merton (1910-2003). The Functionalist looks at society as a body where everything has a function. There are formal organizations as law, education, the family, the media, political system and informal social actions such as suicide, love, and crime. Altogether serve a function and have consequences on society. Crime is normal and found in every society. It shows us what is acceptable or not. Crime produces rituals as court processes and boundaries which show us who is in and who is out. Durkheim believed that a very high rate of crime or deviance shows that something had gone wrong with the society. Suicide is a social phenomenon which can be explained by things such as religion, economic situation, social structure, sexual orientation. Suicide is higher in protestant than catholic countries, more common among single people than married, more common in military than among civilians, rates of suicide drop in time of ar and they are higher in times of economic crisis. The anomie theory of Robert Merton (1957) is distinguished between cultural goals (material possessions, status symbols) and institutional means (opportunities to achieve these goals in a socially acceptable way). The situation where is too much emphasis on the cultural goals and not enough on the institutional means is known a s anomie. Talcott Parsons (1951) is talking about two basic functions of the family: the reproduction and the stabilisation of adult personality.

Intimate And Sensate Spaces Film Studies Essay

Do memorable experiences permeate architectural boundaries to give us a sense of belonging, and to what extent does the content of memory exist in familiarities of darkness, aroma and topographic point? As our lives become entwined with the physical occurrences in this universe we seek a sense of comfort in the topographic points we most closely associate with. Familiarities of darkness, aroma and topographic point along with their intangible properties stimulate our memories of past experiences and reaffirm our presence in this universe. In clip these topographic points become hoarded wealths of memories and weave through our reinforced environments structuring our journey and doing it meaningful.Introduction1 ) Historic illustrations of how Gothic Cathedrals and Egyptian temples became symbols of clip and experience. 2 ) Analyzing the decreasing animal familiarities and duologues between infinites and our lives and the transparence tendency in modern edifices today. 3 ) Phenomenology as looking at architecture through our ain witting experiences and the undertaking of Architecture to construction and happen our being in this universe 4 ) The purpose of this essay to research the content of what makes topographic points memorable by understanding the relationship between familiarities of darkness, aroma and topographic point.BodyA Intimate infinites and Geometry of Feeling in Phenomenology of Architecture Contemporary readings of brilliantly illuminated infinites and overexploitation of transparence in infinites decreasing our sense of intimate life. The human as a traveler, as a place inhabitant, as a melancholiac and how memories of topographic point infuse him with feelings of familiarity. B 1 ) Familiarity of Darkness Different personifications of darkness in literature, art The Significance of the Shadow How darkness constructions nostalgic images of the yesteryear. The nexus between darkness and memory Symbolic nature of Mental imagination of darkness The ability of darkness to rise the power of other senses. 2 ) Familiarity of Aroma Sense of odor and its ability to transport the individual to different kingdoms of clip Link between darkness and sense of odor Experiencing architecture through the sense of odor The connexion between memory and olfactory property 3 ) Familiarity of Topographic point The nexus between sense of odor and topographic point Sensate topographic points as powerful contents of memory Building and its intimate relation to its context Genius Loci and the phenomenon of topographic point Atmosphere and character of a topographic point 4 ) Design as an appropriate medium of look in being able to retrieve our past experiences and reaffirming our presence in this universe. 5 ) Using Design as a museum of clip, poignance and recollection in carry throughing our desires for intimate connexions and associations with this universe. 6 ) How we translate intimate spacial and centripetal experiences into the cloth of Architecture Tactile stuff looks Treatment of visible radiation and shadow Journey through infinites and altering spacial experiences Establishing a strong contextual relation between the edifice and its environment 7 ) Reviewing the practical possibilities through built illustrations and instance surveies of Architects like Peter Zumthor and Alvar Alto. DecisionIntroductionAs our lives become entwined with the physical occurrences in this universe we seek a sense of belonging in the topographic points we most closely associate with. ‘What is losing from our homes today are the possible minutess between organic structure, imaginativeness and environment ‘ Kent C Bloomer and Charles W Moore. ( as quoted in Pallasmaa 2005: P 41 ) How cognizant are we of the function of Architecture as a topographic point of memory in our lives? Architecture over coevalss has portrayed legion aspects of our physical being in this universe, be it emotion, faith, civilization or recollection. Our perceptual experiences of infinites are influenced by our figments of imaginativeness and recollections of past experiences, be it chapters of a novel, scenes of a movie, glances of a metropolis or narratives of loved 1s, all soaked with times of familiarity and nostalgia. Historic illustrations of such environments have borne testament to this though t in the signifier of Egyptian temples where we witness the silence of the dead and Gothic cathedrals where the eyes are drawn upwards along the arches to the mighty image of God as among the legion wonders of architectural experiences. However, modern infinites of today seem so subtle in their ability to travel us and raise within us wonders of clip and memory. Or is it this turning accent on transparence and openness in modern architecture that has led to decreasing sensitivenesss towards the perceptual experience of infinites as being an confidant and sensate representation of our lives. For the grade to which we observe elements of shadow and the feelings they construe in us, hints of odor and their ability to transport us to different kingdoms of clip and the ambiance of a topographic point, is deserving oppugning. The theory of Phenomenology explains the ethos of architecture as being tasked with non mere physical building of signifiers and maps but besides the manifestation of human experiences and emotions in the edifices we reside in. In kernel our intent as interior decorators is to carry through our interior desires of topographic points that comfort us and make an intimate bond between worlds and their reinforced environments. Contentment in design exists in the individual sing the architecture in all its kingdoms and our environments would be uncomplete representations of our lives if they are barren of memories and experiences. This essay aims to analyze the complex kingdom of familiarity in darkness, aroma and topographic point that have pervaded the really cloth of architecture in the yesteryear and go component and indispensible elements of memorable infinites, therefore taking me to oppugn whether memorable experiences permeate spacial boundaries to give us a sense of belonging, and if so so how do we animate such experiences in the context of modern spacial design.Intimate and Sensate SpacesIntimate infinites are a sense of realisation of the affectional, sensate and memorial features of a topographic point. They reach out and prosecute with our innermost desires of seeking comfort within a home. Architecture ‘s undertaking lies non merely in the physical manifestation of the edifice but besides in the intimate journey of the individual sing the architecture in all its signifiers. Intimate experiences habituate our being in this universe and embody deeper significances and apprehension of mundane life. As competently suggested by Pallasmaa, ‘It is clip that we considered whether signifiers or geometry in general can give rise to architectural feeling ‘ ( P410 ) As mentioned earlier the great wonders of architectural experiences such as Gothic cathedrals and Egyptian temples ne'er failed to travel us and shock us at their magnificence. We realize that they so played close attending to the significance of shadow and visible radiation which were important design elements in the experience they aimed to incarnate. So how so do we inculcate familiarities, enigmas, inquiries, nostalgia and melancholia in our modern twenty-four hours opposite numbers when they seem so vivacious, crystalline and unfastened in their visual aspect? As appropriately suggested by Luis Barragan ‘We have lost our sense of intimate life, and have become forced to populate public lives, basically off from place ‘ ( quoted in Pallasmaa 2005, P47 ) Ultimately the homes we reside in are meant to convey us closer to our reinforced environments, construction our being and non detach us and do us distant animals in the chase of void. Multisensory infinitesFamiliarity of DarknessDarkness more frequently seen as the absence of visible radiation has been associated with many different intensions that have played an influential function in the manner we perceive a dark infinite ; in short darkness has its ain narrative. Panic and offense scenes in literature, memories of the past captured in vintage frames, nostalgic lonely scenes described in poesy and more frequently than non an creative person ‘s picture expresses a deep apprehension of the contrast between dark and light. Further lucubrating on the personification of darkness in literature, a notable illustration would be the significance of darkness portrayed by Shakespeare in his tragic drama Macbeth which in many important scenes depicted the dark sky as a cloak of privacy that the supporter ‘s call upon when perfidy and slaying befall them. Another illustration would be from Junichiro Tanizaki ‘s in congratulations of shadows wherein he desc ribes the symbolic representation of a lacquer dish as being tantamount to savoring the darkness of the room. ( Pallasmaa, 2005 ) These illustrations are of import landmarks of mentions when we begin to chew over over the avenues that darkness as an component has opened up in our twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours lives and moreover introduced into it a personal spacial dimension. Example from the architectural uncanny. Our perceptual experience of darkness is affected by the mode in which the oculus observes analyses and visualizes the material objects around us. The oculus has the ability to divide what we want to see from what we prefer non to see, which is strongly manipulated by the strength of visible radiation in a infinite. The sense of vision determines our connexions with infinites, signifiers and stuffs likewise, and ignites our ideas, imaginativeness and emotions. Darkness so is no longer merely an ambiance of concept in the physical dimension of infinite but it starts to pervade and unify with the darkness of the head even. Therein develops a new continuum of perceived dark infinite, more merely understood as symbolic imagination of darkness, which exists in the boundaries of our phantasies, dreams and imaginativeness. The intimacy of these connexions is straight affected by the contrast of visible radiation and shadow in a infinite, as noted by Pallasmaa ( 2005, p46 ) ‘During ove rmastering emotional experiences, we tend to shut off the distancing sense of vision ; we close the eyes when dreaming, listening to music, or fondling our darling 1s ‘ He farther goes on to explicate the significance of shadows and darkness in chanting down the acuteness of vision and in bring oning our inner ideas and feelings that otherwise seem elusive and hibernating. ( Pallasmaa 2005 ) Obviously plenty, darkness structures our immediate sensate and intimate experiences of minutes gone by or enfold our head with new found associations of clip and infinite. We chose to either remain confined to the darkness of physical infinite or in bend explore the boundaries of fanciful dark infinites. Memories are the consequence of these geographic expeditions within our heads that take topographic point in the presence of elusive visible radiation and deep shadow infinites. Memories are like scenes in a drama or chapters of a book that journey from one facet to another making a assortment of experiences for the individual walking through the infinite. As claimed by Pallasmaa that streets of old towns and metropoliss with their dim lit scenes appear more challenging than modern overly lit streets and towns oftoday. ( Pallasmaa, 2005 ) It about seems as if darkness and shadow play an instrumental function in raising up images of past experiences and exciting our ideas. Reaffirmed herein by Pallasmaa once more when he explains ‘The human oculus is most absolutely tuned for dusk instead than bright daytime. Mist and twilight rouse the imaginativeness by doing ocular images ill-defined and equivocal ‘ ( 2005, P46 ) More frequently than non we enjoy and gaze with admiratio n at the simple admirations of the dark sky, be it a star lit sky, a cloudy sky, a full Moon dark. Memories resonate in these infinites, infinites that give us the chance to be a portion of the admirations of nature, or experience times that we long for. When we begin to understand these elaboratenesss in the look of visible radiation and shadow, or duologues between atmosphere and our organic structure we begin to oppugn the elaboratenesss and duologues between our yesteryear and nowadays and look frontward to determining of new memories in the hereafter. The functions of visible radiation and darkness are interestingly linked yet absolutely balanced and it is for those grounds that we begin to develop new found associations with infinite that in many ways seem intimate and fond to our being. Memorable topographic point experiences are profoundly infused with infinites we most closely associate with. Darkness and shadow in their ain manner create a sense of purdah and enigma that all right tune the character and ambiance of a topographic point to comfort our senses and comfort us in times of demand. Many a clip ideas in our head have a inclination to look in an equivocal and unorganised manner, likewise shadow excessively creates an atmosphere of obscureness and wonder that spurs our imaginativeness and memories. On the contrary, topographic points of bright visible radiation and utmost strength weaken our esthesis of topographic point and personal experience. ( Pallasmaa 2005 ) As farther critically explained by Pallasmaa that the be st manner of subjecting people to insanity is with the usage of utmost degrees of visible radiation strength which erases any hint of personal infinite and idea. ( Pallasmaa 2005 ) Darkness in its confidant and sensate characteristic goes a measure farther to convey to illume the other senses in our organic structure. Darkness subdues the ocular esthesis of the oculus, automatically exciting the power of other senses such as touch and odor. It is in the presence of deep shadow that we depend on the heightened power of our other senses to see and closely prosecute with a infinite.Familiarity of AromaAroma, besides termed as an olfactive sense though preponderantly a ignored facet in architecture, is in fact one of the strongest centripetal characteristics in our organic structures and the deepness of experience and experiencing it covers is although unseeable but enkindled clip and once more through built-in tactile and ocular qualities of a infinite. It is an indispensible constitutional component of spacial design, raising up ocular imagination and personal penetrations of memories and infinites, transporting us to different kingdoms of clip. More simplistical ly set frontward, scent engages dialogue with nature through air current, H2O, location, flora as portion of the external environment and duologue with infinite through furniture, stuffs, and ocular entreaty in the interior environment. We ever trace ourselves back to a topographic point in clip through our sense of odor be it elusive or overmastering. As notably marked by Barbara and Perliss that olfactory property constitutes a powerful content of memory, perforating our inner ideas and exciting our emotions. Furthermore they bring back and refresh forgotten or hibernating minutes and experiences from within us. ( Barbara and Perliss 2006 ) Even though aroma by itself is a powerful tool in the remembrance of memory, it best exists when supported by the other senses, working in tandem to make a multisensory experience.

Anzaldua †Borderlands la frontera Essay

In Gloria Anzaldua’s book Borderlands La Frontera, The New Mestiza, she shares her experience in a post-colonial world as a Chicana, a lesbian and a woman who grew up in a cross-cultured area trying to understand her identity but also to make us rethink about what a border is and what are the consequences which come with it. Anzaldua creates a â€Å"mestiza consciousness† as a dynamic capable of breaking down dualistic ascendant archetypes. This concept is related to â€Å"hybridity†, a mixed race, which will be the primary focus in this essay. The significance of being a hybrid in a colonized area of the North America resides in the desire of finding harmony between one’s cultural identity and the conqueror’s model society. Before the war with the US, California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas belonged to Mexico. As Anzaldua states, â€Å" separated from mexico, the native Mexican-Texan no longer looked toward Mexico as home, the southwes t became our homeland once more† (Anzaldua 29). In this area she lives in, the border, Anzaldua cannot expressly think of herself as Mexican nor can she truly call herself American according to the norms which include language (English) and the skin color (white). What is her identity then? All she knows is that her home is in the Rio Grande Valley. Anzaldua’s mother used to refer to boys as snakes: â€Å"don’t go to the outhouse at night [†¦] a snake will crawl into your nalgas and make you pregnant†. The Azteca-Mexicana culture is male-dominated; women do not really have much power. As she explains, â€Å"the first time I heard two women, a Porto Rican and a Cuban, say the word nosotras, I was shocked [†¦] Chicanas use nosotros whether you are male or female. Language is a mal discourse† (Anzaldua 76). Women are controlled by men in her society, maybe this is one of the reasons she became a lesbian. Men drove the powerful female deities underground by giving them monstrous traits and by replacing them with male deities, which shows the lack of power women hold in this culture. In addition, the author explains that speaking Spanish was seen as an insult for Americans; â€Å"if you want to be American, sp eak ‘American’. If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico† (Anzaldua 75). The ironic fact here is that Gloria’s ancestors have always inhabited the land that now belongs to the US, before ‘white people’ came and populated the area. The US itself was a colony with Spanish, French, British conquerors. Who said that ‘American’ has to be the language  you must speak in order to belong to their land? In addition, she had to take two speech classes to get rid of her accent. She expresses that â€Å"attacks on one’s form of expression with the intent to censor are a violation of the First Amendment [†¦] Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out† ( Anzaldua 76). Indeed, to truly be part of the American ideal society, she had to speak only English and get rid of her accent. However, her accent is part of the person she is, her culture and identity. Getting rid of it is getting rid of her cultural background. In conclusion, Gloria Anzaldua explains how challenging it was for her to live in a colonized land of North America, trying to fit in their ideal society without forgetting her own culture and everything that identify her. Her sexuality, gender, religion, culture, language and accent are what constitute the Self, what represents her uniqueness and defines her role in North America.

The components of cultural identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The components of cultural identity - Essay Example Their understanding of just how to make a behavioral change happen and maintain it in a sustainable way is impressive. Australian companies do understand the values that underlie beneath a values-based leadership." (Human resource magazine, 2009) One of the Australia’s biggest supermarket chains is Woolworth retailers. Woolworths possess dominant position in the groceries as well as consumer interest in electronics. Woolworths Limited came in to being in 1924, first store at imperial arcade. The company has the logo of â€Å"The Fresh Food People† and it is famous throughout Aussie as key slogan to represent companies’ strategy. On 22 August 2008, Woolworth re-launched its identity as a competitive stance for modern, safer and more likeable brand. Woolworth uses aggressive promotional strategy. Woolworth realizes the importance that promoting the product before its launch in the market. Promotion brings in handsome results and profits. Woolworth makes use of comp onents of culture identity to create and market its products and services. Paragraph # 1 As define by Jamson2007 in his book class differences often define groups of people sharing common values, behavior, attitudes. Though sources of wealth might differ, the rich often share values and behavior similar to others. Woolworth knows that its elite customers value quality above all. So depending upon the demands of its customers, Woolworth creates and markets its products. Woolworth knows that for better quality products the best quality raw materials have to be use. To ensure that its products are quality approved it imposes TQM (total quality management). For special Woolies- production lines the local clothing manufacturers have to separate Woolies production lines from others in their plant. This is for ensuring proper quality control procedures and quality demand requirements. Woolworth constructs its advertising strategy considering the target market. Woolworth target status-consc ious clientele who value their reputation above everything else and measure it in terms of quality at inconsiderate price ranges. For such quality valuing class, Woolworth ensures the strategy of even at a fraction of price gets double the quality.† Such strategy of offering double quality at each penny attracts the upper class clientele, who share common values and behavior and even attitudes. Jameson2007 further points out that the prestige of social class depends on family history, celebrity, or power. As a result, Woolworth tries its best to appeal new target markets using such means. For instance, Woolworth has tried attracting more affluent clientele by introducing new product lines associated with prominent designers or celebrities. A recent example of such is the new advertising campaign of Jupiter Drawing Room in The Cape Town. Woolworth â€Å"W† Collection ads featured well-known business clientele including Seeff Properties' Samuel Seeff, Sasol's Christine Ra mon and other well-known captains of the business industry all proudly sporting the Woolies "W" Collection. It is a great advertising strategy that is been use as a testimonial route because today customers from age groups tend to more inclined towards celebrities and their choices. Paragraph#2 Organizational strategy and decision-making often needs to account for cultural differences related to density or regional

American Political Parties Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Political Parties - Research Paper Example Northern anti-slavery modernizers and activists founded the Republican Party in 1854 .The party became prominent in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was elected into office and made use of the party’s machinery to facilitate winning of the American Civil War. Consequently, on the eve of the 3rd Party System that is from 1854 to 1896 the party controlled national politics as well as the 4th Party System (1896-1932).At present, GOP is in support of an American conservative policy, having more foundations in social conservatism, fiscal conservatism and economic liberalism (Noel,2014). The Democratic Party on the other hand is another main political party in America and happens to be the oldest party worldwide. It has been fighting head on with the Republican Party since 1854.Starting 1912; the Democratic Party has effectively situated itself as the liberal party tackling domestic issues. Much of the Democratic Party’s agenda has been shaped by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s economic philosophy which has had a strong influence on contemporary American liberalism from 1932.The White House was under the control of New Deal coalition of Roosevelt, until 1968, the exception being only the period from 1953-1961which was under Eisenhower. Generally, liberals have been center-left, supporting social progressivism, social justice, the welfare state and a mixed economy (Schaffner, 2012). The 2004 US presidential election was conducted onTuesday, 2nd November and incumbent President George W. Bush of Republican Party defeated his Democratic Party rival, John Kerry-a Massachusetts junior senator by then. Republican Party nominated Bush together with the then Vice President Dick Cheney. The dominant theme through the entire electioneering period was foreign policy especially the War on Terrorism spearheaded by Bush as well as the consequences of 2003 Iraq invasion. The Republican presidential nominee was John McCain for 2008 presidential nominee after obtaining 1191 delegates

Relational database solution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Relational database solution - Essay Example Therefore this need has led to introduction of various data storage solutions. One very well known model for database management is the rational database solution. A relational data base can be explained or defined as a collection of data or information. The data is then stored in tables where it can be accessed or rearranged in different ways without changing the arrangement of the tables. Relational data base was invented in the 1970 by Edgar Codd at IBM Harrington (2004). The relational database management system is based on the relational model theory. A relational database model has a set of tables which are designed to hold data after collection. The data is arranged and put in categories which have a set order. Each of the tables which are also known as a relation has either one or more data groups in columns. Every row has a set of data for each of the categories and is defined by the columns Harrington (2004). A good example is when an entry in a normal business order database has a table that gives a description of a customer which includes columns for the name, an address and a phone number. In addition there can be another table describing an order with columns for; the product name, date, customer name, the sales price. Therefore any person assigned to use the database can get access the database depending on what information they want to gather. For example a branch office manager might want to view a report on company clients that have bought either a product or a service in a particular date. Many of today’s businesses rely on their database systems for accurate and up to date information Suad (2005). Without this much needed information business organizations find themselves in tough situations such as strategic planning as well as corporate decision making. On the other hand for it to be useful to a business organization or a firm, it must be accurate, complete and organized in such a way that data can be retrieved when needed and in

Process Design Matrix Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Process Design Matrix - Coursework Example nsequently, this executive summary will be essential in advocating for varied aspects, which these firms entail to embrace in enhancing performance management for Engineering Support Service as well as Drive socket adapter. In improving the former, aspects that require consideration embrace product line, personal attention to approach and production line. Conversely, Drive socket adapter entail assembly line, batch as well as continuous flow approach. By considering these approaches, they will be of immense significance by firms in understanding, managing as well as enhancing respective process with ease. The focus of this aspect encompasses enhancing performance management, which implies addressing any issue that entail rectification and in regards to employees’ performances. Hence, rectify them in time to be at par with already set guidelines of policies devised to put the firm in an aggressive edge in the market. In realizing this, it encompasses upholding efficiency through employees’ praising and rewarding them based on their realizations. However, the measure of realizations entails effective strategies like each having a performance files (having at least 11-15 machine production lines), which will also be critical when considering their promotions. Mainly, this encompasses firms shunning the traditional fragmented processes that end up taking many resources that could have gone in other purposes. This is only realizable if firm have effective plan for each party besides considering the following, This is more of merging all operators’ intentions or goals towards enhancing quality of the aforementioned socket. Mainly, this is in such way the socket passes through respective assembly departments until the final one whereby afterwards inspection and shipping commences. Hence, ensuring the firm’s productions align with the management’s anticipated goals. Mainly, the appropriate approach encompasses employing â€Å"lean manufacturing process† whose

Letter discussing favorite person in history Essay

Letter discussing favorite person in history - Essay Example Consequently, he warned that he was going to retaliate to violence with the appropriate force meant to instill permanent solution. His resolution prompted him to lead the end of servitude US, which was on 16Th April 1862. This expanded and implemented the policies of what most Americans currently see as their core national values in terms of liberty and equality. On April 12, 1861 at 4.30 a.m., there was commencement of civil war begun. This began after Gen. Pierre Beauregard opened fire in S. Carolina, specifically at the Charleston harbour on Fort Sumter. This bombardment persisted for approximately over 30 hours but ended with the giving in of the Fort by Robert Anderson. This led to the loosing of stars and stripes, whereas stars and bars triumphed. On April 15th, Lincoln called for over 70,000 people out of their wish join and serve in the military for ninety days with the intention of retaliating Southern challenge. Consequently, this led to the assertion of Emancipation by Lincoln in September 1862, which was after the Union Army at Battle of Antietam defeated the Confederates. He warned if by January 1, 1863 the bombardment had not came an ended, this would adversely affect Emancipation meant to be granted to Union whose intention encompassed halting servitude in all defiant states. Lincoln deemed the only way to settle it was by using appropriate and equal force. In the following weeks, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina, states then having many people in the southern region joined the Confederacy after pulling out from the Union. Since Lincoln was the commander in chief, he was responsible for how the war was going to be conducted. The union was saved by Lincoln’s strong presidency. His presiding over the American Civil War, established the nation as one and indivisible On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was move meant to emancipate slaves that provided the most convincing illustration of

Bloom Energy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bloom Energy - Research Paper Example Even though one can view energy in relation to the full functioning of urban areas, this analysis may focus on the energy features of a contemporary urban settlement, such as Delaware. Bloom Energy, through its revolutionary effort with fuel cell technology, aspires to aid businesses and homes in fueling their own automobiles and producing their own power, giving light and electricity to outlying communities and even decreasing dependence on existing electricity grids. The technology at the core Bloom Energy’s aim to support the environment and the planet was initially designed for utilization in deep space (Schenker 2009). K.R. Sridhar, the co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy, received a request from NASA to formulate a way to make Mars suitable for human habitation. His original plan was an instrument that would utilize Martian water and solar energy to power a reactor cell that produced hydrogen to fuel vehicles and oxygen to breathe (Schenker 2009). The plan formed a brilliant idea in Sridhar. If the reaction will be reversed, putting fuel and oxygen into the cell to produce power, he could transform the way people produced and used energy. He created the prototype of his purported Bloom Boxes to perform the reaction reversal, but required a lot more effort to make the mechanism reversible (Schenker 2009). In that manner, when attached to a source of renewable energy like solar panel, the Bloom Boxes produce and amass oxygen and hydrogen. And when the renewable energy source disappears, it shifts direction and utilizes the amassed gases to produce current. As disclosed by Sridhar, â€Å"I quit doing my NASA work because I believe this particular technology can change the world. Just like developing nations leapfrogged over fixed telephony to mobile, we think our technology will allow developing nations to do the same thing for

Review of the movie Missing Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Of the Missing - Movie Review Example Alternatively, the film also demonstrates the relationship between Horman’s father Ed Horman (Lemmon) who is an American and Horman’s wife (Spacek). At the beginning, Lemmon blames Charles for his radical political views that resulted in his disappearance. However, he later on changes his mind thinking that there is a possibility of the Government being heavily involved with the disappearance of Charles or possibly his death. There is also the possibility that Charles the young American would have been on the informal hit list that involves foreign journalists taken away and probably killed. It is also claimed that the American embassy officials were aware of his fate and were even involved in approving Charles death. A drama film, which is set in Chile at a time when the nation is experiencing civil war, the film generally concerns some of the actions in which the United States government takes to gain more popularity. Generally, Missing focuses mainly on power from its actual life basis. Alternatively, Missing is a straightforward film that has an extensive deal that imparts on the United States behaviors in foreign countries especially in its operations. The theme in this case revolves around the United States on foreign land. Alternatively, the film demonstrates how the United States works in sustaining its operations in foreign nations and yet its own citizens decry the nation’s secret operations especially when the public are aware of these events. From the film drama, it is quite evident that the United States operates like a two-edged sword whereby the United States citizen’s priorities tend to shift especially when matters become personal. Ed Horman who is Charles father de monstrates this aspect. Edward and Mildred Lewis uses the characters in this film in such a way that they effectively bring out some of the true events that once happened during the civil war year. The characters are

Asian Financial Crises 1997 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Asian Financial Crises 1997 - Essay Example Some of the worst suffering economies like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand were the one's that were successfully integrated into the world economy at that time. Therefore, a shift started taking place in economist's opinion on 'globalization' (Piasecki & Wolnicki, 2004). Globalization started in this region by early 1990s and by the mid-1990s, the success appeared to have entered deep into the economies. Openness through 'globalization' and 'regional integration' came to be known as the factors affecting development and economy. But suddenly there were indications from Japan that in order to defend the yen, it might raise the interest rates. The statement itself to this effect set off a chain reaction amongst the foreign investors in the South-East Asian region. They started offloading the local currencies, 'before it was too late'. USA, had a big stake in this region, therefore US also joined Japan in the campaign to save Yen from falling further and started buying yen to stop the precipitous fall (Sanger, 1998). But the Yen kept falling with even some Japanese investors preferring to convert their Yen into other currencies because of liberalized financial rules. Subsequently, there were two rounds of currency depreciation. Thai baht, Malaysian ringgit, Philippine peso, and Indonesian rupiah felt the heat in the first round while the Taiwanese dollar, South Korean won, Singaporean dollar, and Hong Kong dollar were devalued in the second round. The respective governments tried to pump in all their foreign currency reserves into the local market in order to save their own currencies, but to no avail. The stock markets kept hitting rock bottom. South-east Asian nations then tried to raise interest rates, which, in turn, slowed down the economic growth. This crises was being termed as Asia's second biggest event1 since World War II, resulting in seriously affecting the domestic social, political, and economic environment with equally damaging impact o n intra- and extra-regional international relations The banking system was the worst affected, for example at that most of the 240 Indonesian banks turned insolvent, while some other well-run banks like Bali were trapped in bad debt (Landler, 1998). Banks were the worst affected with the crisis. With the excess of local currency in the local markets its value was bound to head southwards. And that's exactly what happened. Stock market too went in a bearish mode and stock prices started tumbling down. Nanto (1998) points out that the reasons which brought about this crisis included four basic problems or issues: i. A shortage of foreign exchange that caused the value of currencies and equities in Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and other Asian countries to fall dramatically ii. Inadequately developed financial sectors and mechanisms for allocating capital in the troubled Asian economies, iii. Effects of the crisis on both the United States and the world, and iv. The role, operations, and replenishment of funds of the International Monetary Fund. On the other hand the Secretary General of UNCTAD, states (Piaseck & Wolnicki, 2004) that the two main causes of the South East Asian crises were: i. Excessive openness to the world economy, and ii. Inability to manage this openness, on

State and Local Government of Texas Essay Example for Free

State and Local Government of Texas Essay Introduction We are proud to introduce the next governor of the great State of Texas, Ms. Jane â€Å"Bitzi† Johnson Miller. She is a staunch Conservative Republican whose proud Texan traditions are deep rooted here in the Lone Star State. A native Texan who grew up in West Texas, she comes from a great line of proud Texans including former Governor Joe â€Å"Big Daddy† Johnson. Ms. Miller attended Harvard and earned a Master’s in Business Administration. In this difficult and uncertain time of economic recession, she has been an innovator and business leader. She knows the kinds of policies Texans need in order to free themselves from this recession and emerge with Texas as a global economic leader. In addition to being an accomplished business woman, she knows the value of being a single mother, and has always emphasized the importance of family, raising her two children to become role model in their communities and proud Texas citizens. Everyone knows you â€Å"don’t mess with Texas† and so they will learn not to mess with Bitzi, for she will fight for Texas families and businesses, creating economic growth while retaining the traditional values our great State needs. As you all know our country is facing many problems including lack of healthcare, proper transportation infrastructure, education expenses, unemployment, minority issues, including their education and immigration. It is with these issues that Ms. Jane â€Å"Bitzi† Johnson Miller would like to base her platform. Cultural and Regional Support Because Texas is geographically large and diverse, it is made up of numerous distinct regions, each of which is characterized by diverse levels of wealth, types of economic activity, density of settlement, racial and ethnic  mix, and political culture. East Texas and West Texas have a different feel from each other. And both of these are different from South Texas. Urban Texas, which is where a majority of the states population resides, is remarkably different richer and with greater economic and cultural diversity from the rural areas of the state. For that matter, the cities are different from each other. Austin and Dallas are almost two different worlds, but even neighbors Fort Worth and Dallas are quite distinct. Meanwhile, the rural border area is certainly different from the agricultural rural areas of East Texas. South Texas is the one place she is going to face problems because of more liberal voters, however her agenda addresses minority problems, as well as her appeal to the single mother gives her common ground with some of the more middle of the road democrats. At the same time her agenda reflects her desire to work for minorities. Houston has a lot of minority voters. Because she is a Republican and comes from a business and conservative family heritage Western and Eastern Texas where much of the population is wealthy and white will relate to her and therefore vote for her. Texas has a historic and varied political culture. The traditionalistic culture believes in a hand off approach to government. Maintain the status quo and no distribution of wealth. She will relate to this group because of her traditional conservative values which encourage limited government participation and virtually no beaurocracy. The moralistic culture looks at society as a whole with government involvement in social and economic issues. She will do well with this group because as a single mother she understands the need of the state’s citizens who struggle to raise children and make ends meet under a one parent household. Many of these single parent families require assistance from their government on economic, educational and healthcare issues. Then there is the individualistic culture who is self-sufficient and suspicious of government. She will relate to this group because of her ability to rise above the difficulty of being a single mother and become an affluent and influential economic power creating a multi-million dollar business all on her own. Demographic Support Political culture is complex even in a place like Texas where there is a broad consensus about core values and ideals. Despite numerous constitutions  and national flags, the changing fortunes of political parties, and the almost complete transformation of the economy, the states political culture displays a remarkable continuity. The dominant political cultures particular combination of economic liberalism (faith in the free market economy), social conservatism (favoring traditional values and moralism), and populism (promoting the rights and worthiness of ordinary people) has proven quite resilient over many decades and even centuries. These ideological tendencies are expressed in a dominant political culture that tends to favor low taxes, low government services, and pro-business policies, while at the same time reserving a significant respect (at least in the abstract) for popular control of government. But will our political culture and ideological tendencies continue to experience the stability they have enjoyed in the past? Despite the resilience of our political culture, it may currently be entering a period of more fundamental change. The low-taxes, low-services ideology may be losing its hold on society. A couple of recent developments may be eroding the foundation of this orientation, including rapid growth of the population of working class immigrants and their first-generation offspring, as well as generally heightened concern over adequate funding of public grade schools throughout the state. Over the past two decades, the immigrant population in Texas has swelled. By 2004 the Lone Star State became the fourth so-called majority-minority state in which the populations of all minority groups added together account for more than half the total population. Recent immigrants and their children tend to be socially conservative, but they also tend to have pressing needs for government services. While annual rates of growth of the immigrant and minority populations in Texas may have peaked in the early 2000s, these rates still remain high. And as the state becomes home to ever greater numbers of immigrants and minorities, it could experience a dramatic shift in its dominant low-taxes, low services ideology. Regional variety in Texas is a commonly recognized source of difference in culture and society in the state. The income disparity also reflects the strong economic regionalism in Texas, which in turn reflects both the racial/ethnic distribution across the state as well as the distinct geographic character of the states regions. The Texas Politics feature Where Jobs Are And Good Wages shows that the south Texas border and El Paso areas, which have the highest concentration  of Latinos, also have the lowest per capita incomes in the state. The highest per capita incomes are found in the state’s largest and rapidly growing metropolitan areas like Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. Over the past few decades Texas cities have experienced phenomenal population growth. These fast growing metropolitan areas are more likely to vote for her due to her success in business and her familial roots. Her high family values are also something that appeals to this more traditionally conservative area. The Texas border and El Paso areas, are the least likely to vote for her due to their high concentration of minorities and democrats. There may be some appeal due to the fact she is a single mother, however this may not be enough to bring out the voters on her behalf. Historically white upper middle class groups were the largest voting group. This includes the religious right, the business sector and older adults. With the economic downturn affecting the nation, the voting groups have expanded to young adults, minorities and lower economic households. It has been made evident since 2008 that all citizens are now going to the polls, reflecting an increase in voter participation. Candidate Bitzi’s campaign platform includes the needs of all Texas, however the diverse and distinct regions of the state will require a focus on regional needs. The border towns will require a focus on immigration issues as well as deficiency of education for many of the minority children. The larger metropolitan areas with their increasingly growing population will require a focus on helping existing business grow, employment for many of these new arrivals and improving infrastructure in order to accommodate the growth. Campaign Themes In this campaign, we are identifying three important problems that are facing Texas. Those are minority issues, importance of proper education and access to healthcare. Minority issues to include their health insurance, education and employment are very crucial to her agenda. Especially when we have lots of people who are unable to carry insurance. It is important to implement a similar program to that of Harris County’s Gold Protection Plan in order to provide health services to the poor. Also minority children are facing language problems in the schools. Insufficient numbers of ESOL teachers, learning materials and classrooms. Employment is very important for their  financial stability. Her suggestion is to incentivize businesses in order to encourage the employment of these minority groups. In Texas education is unequally distributed throughout the school districts. It is very important to make sure each child is considered equal in our school system. Women, the poor, and minorities historically have demonstrated low levels of political participation and therefore representation in government has been low in relation to their numbers in the population. Although these groups have made great progress in being heard and putting their own in office over the past three decades, they still face significant obstacles caused by the relative lack of economic resources, lower education levels, and for immigrants, language barriers. Many women face the additional challenge of fulfilling traditional responsibilities as primary caregivers to their children, while trying to manage and maintain a household. Win or Lose? A candidates theme and platform are equally as important as their strength of character. Politics for centuries has been riddled with backstabbing, treachery and character assassination. Candidate Bitzi is proud to say that her campaign is based on issues important to the everyday Texan, may they be working class, blue collar or white collar. Rumors run rampant during campaigns, however she feels that a strong candidate can win an election based on the issues and not by spreading rumors. It is the job of the media to determine what is news and what is â€Å"fit to print†. If a hurtful rumor about her opposing candidate is brought to her, she definitely will not consider fueling the fire. It is the duty of the people of Texas to vote for the best candidate to meet their needs. The media can do their part. Candidate Bitzi’s main agenda is to find out her opponents political weaknesses not to personally destroy them. Candidate Bitzi is elected Governor of Texas. She is viewed by conservatives to maintain her traditional conservative values reaching as far back as her grandfather, a former governor of Texas. She is also a successful business leader with strong economic ideals that will strengthen Texas and its growing working population. As a single mother and independent business woman she is an attractive candidate to the middle of the road democrat. She is a woman and sensitive to the needs of the state’s minorities. References Texas Election Results 2010 The New York Times elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/texas‎ 2010 Texas Governors Race Maps | The Texas Tribune www.texastribune.org/texaselection/2010-texas-governors-rac Texas Politics Voting, Campaigns and Elections texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/6_1_0.html‎ Texas Governor Race: Can Bill White Beat Rick Perry? TIME www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1972070,00.html‎ PolitiFact Texas | Rick Perry says Bill White refuses to debate www.politifact.com/texas//2010//rick-perry/rick-perry-says-bill-white

Cross Cultural Marketing Communications

Cross Cultural Marketing Communications EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report addresses a project that elaborates Cross Cultural Marketing Communications with reference to Global perspective. It also includes an extensive study done on HSBC Pakistan enabling readers to closely understand the Think Global Act Local. A major programme of market research was carried out to assess the same. The main aim of this study was to explore the factors and considerations which give rise to local strategies development in marketing communications. In order to achieve the above mentioned primary secondary both researches were carried out. In primary research qualitative research was carried out which includes interviewing marketing officials of HSBC bank. The data collected was analysed closely to produce valuable findings. The research revealed that it is extremely important to have knowledge of local cultures and customs when entering in global business. The research identified substantial factors which matters while entering in a different cultured place. This confirmed that a general service like banking can also be moulded for customers in such a way that they will give preference to a service which cares about their local values. INTRODUCTION Of all the business trends spilling over from the 20th to 21st centuries, that of globalization is the one most likely not to be labelled as a fad after several years. The emergence of the global marketplace inevitably advances, bringing with it revolutionary change in the ways that many organizations do business. Harvards Theodore Levitt said more than a generation ago that the purpose of any business was to first attract, and then keep, a customer; globalization brings a wide range of possibilities to the process of attracting those customers. In the process of attracting customers in international markets it of course is necessary for businesses to enter those nations where the markets exist. We can talk all around the cultural differences that exist among the worlds people, but the bottom line is that people with different cultural backgrounds have different perspectives. The purpose here is to evaluate the statement. The language of comparative management seeks to represent the management systems of the other. It pretends to be an objective representation of those systems, but it can only talk about them in a language informed by its own localized and historically situated ontologies, epistemologies and moralities (Westwood, 2001, 242). And to examine the case of HSBC Worlds Local Bank the practices of HSBC will be explored in context with the local culture of Pakistan and what changes were made in their Marketing and Advertising program exclusively for Pakistan, as Pakistan is one of important and emerging countries of Asia. Since cross-cultural marketing is of great importance in this era of globalization many researches have been carried out in this field. Previous researches have not provided sufficient explanation for the cultural factors and practices of HSBC Bank Pakistan. This paper attempts to fill the gap by finding and studying the local practices of HSBC bank and how did they manage to cater the needs of local public. This paper starts examining the importance of cross cultural marketing efforts and the differences found in inter cultural markets. In chapter two consumers and the perception process is discussed with reference to cross cultural aspects. There are several issues which are to be explored in cross cultural marketing which will be discussed in chapter three. The case of HSBC bank and its claim of being worlds local bank will be explored in chapter 4. At the end of this paper recommendations and conclusion will be given based on the research and literature review. CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND 1.1 Cross cultural marketing and its importance Futurists, marketing gurus, demographers, even social scientists generally agree that virtually all research, but especially marketing research, depends on the population involved, specifically the consumer. Books on the weekly best sellers list and the most popular television programs provide directional signals to the future. Trend expert and futurist, Faith Popcorn regularly asks her clients whether or not they know what their customers ate for breakfast, how many kids they have, what are they thinking about and what their the three biggest concerns in life. If the answer is no, you dont know how to sell to them, Popcorn (1996) says. To understand consumers, you have to know what they are eating, how they are living and how they are shopping. Listening to the customer, understanding what he or she is all about, will help you future fit your company (pp. 7D). Generalities, Popcorn says, are what ultimately gives most companies grief. Mass market is overthe future is about individualization, she explains. We have entered a time of one-on-one or customized marketing (7D). It is simple commonsense to realize that such must also be the case in the process of cross-cultural marketing. To make assumptions about a particular target audience or market is flirting with marketing disaster. This is of even greater importance when the marketing is taking place across cultural barriers that might include language barriers, socio-economic status, religious beliefs, or other forms of restrictions that neglect to include the important component of who people are and what are the circumstances that have made them the way they are. The smart marketing professional fully researches and plans for cultural differences. Without that knowledge or without the understanding associated with such knowledge, the likelihood of a successful marketing campaign or product launch become increasingly more discouraging. No single aspect of product and service customization is more important, or more obvious, than that of the unique differences encapsulated within the cultural differences and particular influences based on larger issues associated with the society in which the consumer is born, raised, and educated. Certainly, a consumers preferences are developed in light of his or her opinions and experiences that are then influenced by the realm in which that consumers own personality and preferences are shaped. It is always important to remember, especially when looking at the larger product development framework that encompasses marketing that purchases are not necessarily about the item or service purchased. Of far greater interest to the consumer are the costs, the utility, and the popularity of any given item and not necessarily in that order. Shopping and consumption have become tied up with far more factors than need, utility, or amusement. Complicated issues such as sexuality, status, and self-esteem are connected to the purchases of everything from cars to handbags. Regardless of whether such a statement is accurate for any single individual or particular group of individual .It is a fact of life in retailing, in marketing, in all aspects of human interaction for most consumers, especially those most influenced by the commercialism of Western societies. As people across the globe gain better understanding of one another, it seems especially arrogant of an organization launching a marketing campaign without thorough research into the markets characteristics and features. It is obvious why the best companies are often those with the best access to the best information. The Information Age has drawn the world together, in at least one way. The fact that people around the industrialized world are well-aware of the products and services that are desirable and exist in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, those selling the products, whether those are industrial machines or womens lingerie are less aware of their consumers than the consumer is of then. As long as that lack of equilibrium is in place, the marketer faces an uphill battle. According to Ryan (1996), all too often, consumer research has been preoccupied with empirical issues and neglects the experiential perspective of consumers as individuals influenced by their cultures, upbringing, and lifestyle. This reflects a fundamental difficulty in consumer research that them leads to a lack of understanding of the context of the consumers cultural bias, preference, and understanding. The marketing specialist must always ask who or what is the consumer? However, the marketer must also be well aware of what factors have made the consumer think and act in the way he or she does. Without such an understanding of cultural issues, a product or service enters a market with a definite disadvantage. Malhotra, Agarwal and Peterson (1996) also warn that methodological issues have had the historical tendency of restricting the most positive and forward-thinking progress of cross-cultural marketing research. Cross-cultural research is best addressed through specialized analytical methods such as structural equation modelling and conjoint analysis. New methods, however, should be based on validated theories to benefit cross-cultural research. Researchers are encouraged to develop new methods and theories that are based on the cultural circumstances they are dealing with, as well as the information that makes such cultural concerns different or in need of modification from any other marketing process. The persuasiveness of any communication can be increased much more easily and dramatically by paying attention to the content (and the relation of that content to the dependent target variable) than by manipulation of credibility, attractiveness, fear, self-esteem, distraction, or any of the other myriad factors that have captured the attention of researchers in the area of marketing communication. Keeping these factors in mind, specific, qualitative research methodology must be employed in order to assure that the unique concerns of this equally unique culturally specific demographic are addressed. Recognizing that such a segment of the population requires a multi-faceted approach in terms of any meaningful research, the first baseline data should be gathered from a cross-national diffusion analysis since basic cross-national or cross-cultural diffusion analysis plays an integral role in determining the success of newly-introduced products in the market. According to Kumar, Ganesh, Echambadi (1998), evaluating cross-national/cultural factors does not only help firms determine market trends but also help them ascertain the period of time by which products are adopted in different parts of the country. However, it is safe to say that three key factors for successful cross-cultural business will always play a part in that atmosphere: recognition of the other partys difference, the need to remain culturally neutral, and respect for the cultural norms and/or behaviours regardless of potential emotional stress and discomfort. Marketing strategies must be sensitized according to the cultural norms and taboos of other societies, while considering their cultures languages, work schedules, tastes, religious beliefs and lifestyles. In most parts of Latin America, for example, social relationships must be established before the process of engaging in business. 1.2 Inter cultural marketing differences Every society as a cultural heritage that prescribes certain broad patterns of behaviour. These patterns extend to such diverse areas as sexual roles, dress, food habits, recreation, patterns of authority, status symbols, artefacts, attitudes, motivation, and use of space and meaning of language. We are accustomed to the practices and configurations of our own culture and, when deprived of them, are often unable to deal effectively with our environment. (Kenneth Runyon). Alvin Toffler refers the phenomenon of culture shock as the psychological effect of suddenly finding ourselves without our accustomed cultural support. Customs and culture can be even stronger than laws. When advertising to children age 12 or over was approved in Germany, local customs were so strong that companies risked customers revolt by continuing to advertise. (W Wells, Burnett J Moraity S) Every society has different set of cultures which companies and organizations have to keep in mind while developing their marketing and advertising strategies. Companies that are starting to do business in the Middle East have to learn new selling methods because the region is so devoutly religious. There are major restrictions on how women are presented in advertising. Many Asian cultures emphasize relationships and context. To be effective, the advertising message must recognize these cultural differences. (W Wells, Burnett J Moraity S) Values in a society continually change and are sometimes dichotomous. For example, as the median age of the population increases (the aging of baby boom generation), modifications in values are readily evident. While being tolerant of sexuality and other more liberal concepts, millions of Americans are, at the same time, returning to more traditional values and embracing some form of religion or spirituality. After decades of materialism and self-indulgence, many baby boomers are searching for meaning. Even younger members of society are changing. Many have embraced greater levels of temperance in terms of drugs, alcohol and sex. The restructuring of values in society presents three challenges for marketing experts. The first is to monitor for changes so that the company is aware of what is happening in the society. The second is to create products and services compatible with changing values. The third is to design marketing messages that reflect and build on the value target markets and individual customers hold. (Kenneth Clow Donald Baack). CHAPTER 2: CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE 2.1 Consumer behaviour to cross cultural marketing The development of any product or service will be dependant on the behavioural attitudes of the buy consumers. These may influence the development, demand change or impact on the way in which marketing takes place. The development of many different products and services can be seen to demonstrate these changes. The way in which a purchase decision is made can be seen to encompass the different attitudes of a purchaser, and as such it will impact on the way the product is perceived and the need for companies to satisfy consumer needs or appeal to their desires. Research into this area has identified that the process that goes on in this black box is usually undertaken in one of two ways. This may be by the category-based evaluation or piecemeal processing (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). Category based decision making is a method of evaluating a product (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). For example a consumer may be in a supermarket considering which brand of coffee to buy. The category based process will involve the consumer will make use of the existing knowledge or memories that they already have regarding the product (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). They may remember that a particular brand of coffee was associated with fair Trade, or received a good review in a food and drink magazine. It is worth noting that this will also reflect political changes and different fashions or trends. Advertising plays a part in this process as it gives the consumer a knowledge or perception of the product prior to the consumer arriving at the supermarket (Kahn, 1998). Even though this may not be remembered consciously the consumer may have this clue or memory stimulated when they see the packaging of a make, or make the association (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). The advertising may be to associate with the product the company name or the brand. One example of the way advertising may be used is that of Chevron, who probably spent five times the cost of its environmental initiatives on publicity (Dadd and Carothers 1993,483), many of which were legal requirements. Other companies, such as Body Shop (Bartlett C, 1991), or Ben and Jerrys (Zinkhan and Carlson, 1995), have embraced environmentalism more sincerely approaching it in differing ways and as such create a more positive image that may be remembered when making a purchase decision. These have been as a result of the increase public awareness of the need for care of the environment, which has been propagated by non governmental organisations as well as the government. This shows how consumer states and behaviour change the way products are developed. If we consider the Bodyshop as an example, although the reputation was one of environmental policies and good practice, it was developed this way due to a perceived gap in the market, not out of an altruistic concern for the way business took place. Therefore, business follows the consumer demands. Likewise, Chevron cynically used the steps it was legally obliged to take to give an impression of an environmental business in order to increase its reputation and increase sales. There are also other trends that we can see take place, one only has to look in a UK supermarket during a dispute with France to see the way that the impression given by French products and the association with the dispute will decrease the demand for them. Here we see that there is also a strong indication that stereotyping may play a role in the consumer choices (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). This may be seen as a strange kind or justice, after all the advertising companies have been stereotyping consumers for long enough. The second process is the piecemeal process, this may be seen as a more thoughtful approach, but it is still prone to influence form consumer behaviour (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). In this process the consumer takes into account the different characteristics of the different products (Hadjimarcou et al, 1999). Our consumer looking for coffee may therefore look to see if it is decaffeinated, what the flavour strength and type is described as and possibly even the usefulness of the jar after the coffee is used. Today it is popular for a shopper to look to buy tuna with a dolphin friendly label indicating that dolphins were not harmed in the catching of the fish. The increased awareness of environmental factors has informed the consumers and increased the demand (Kotler, 2003). The same may be said of many other product, hence the increased appearance of low fat foods and low sugar foods, emblazoned with labels to tell the consumer that they have the characteristics which the consumer may find as desirable. The same is also true of health food, increased government and health advertising has emphasised the role of diet and health, as such there has been increased demand for products that are high in fibre, free of artificial preservatives and natural. The development of new ranges have also reflected changed consumer behaviour. A good example of this is the luxury food sold in supermarkets. These were once small lines with only a little interest shown in them. However, when the economy suffered a surprising event took place that indicated these were not ordinary goods but giffen goods. Normal goods will see sales drop when either their price rises or there is a decrease in disposable income and the relative price can be seen as increasing (Nellis and Parker, 2000). When the economy took a downward trend these good increased in sales, with demand for a better selection. The pattern was seen as a result of a reduction in visits by the consumers to a restaurant, this was seen as an acceptable substitute, good quality food, already prepared, but cheaper as it was bought and then cooked at home. This was a piecemeal decision as in many cases the prices were compared either form memory and the purchase was considered, The change in behaviour also instigated new ranged and developments of increased provision of these luxury brands. For example in the UK, each supermarket now has its own luxury brand, such as Tesco with their finest range. The aspect of price will also be seen as part of the process, this may be due to the perception of the brand as an expensive or cheap brand (stereotyping), as will the image of the product gained from the packaging and the advertising (Kahn, 1998). This was also a part of the rise of the luxury food market. The need for information and the way this is acted upon can also influence markets. A good example of this may be seen as the Dyson vacuum cleaner. This was the first vacuum cleaner to be patented with a bagless system. Turned down by major companies such as Electrolux the company started up producing the vacuums in a shoestring, with straightforward advertising the took pace by way of an explanation of what the product was. This become a popular product, so much so that competitors, such as Hoover broke the patent to start supplying similar products due to the change in consumer tastes and their demand for this type of vacuum after understanding exactly what it was and how it worked. These different decision methods may be seen as not mutually exclusive, they may interact with each other, and the decision maybe based on both, especially if the purchase is a large single purchase such as a television or a washing machine. However, they also embody the different behavioural attitudes of the consumer which manifest n the different purchase decisions. It is only when understanding this complex interaction of values beliefs and trends that a company can develop products that will sell and market them in the right way to the right target audience. The change is often seen as driven by new products, but the real change can be seen in the way that the consumer behaves, after all, if a new product is developed, but does not succeed it will not impact on the overall market, whereas changing attitudes will force change in the suppliers. 2.2 Perception based on cultural backgrounds Perception is important in communication because perception affects the way we understand events, others and ourselves. Our perceptions are unique because of physiological factors, past experiences, culture and co-culture, and present feelings and circumstances. Two computer programmers, each of the same race and from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, are likely to communicate with each other differently than if either was addressing a member of another culture or presenting a project report to a committee overseeing a project of which the programmers work was a part. Communication can be complicated when those involved are merely from different regions of the United States. When they are from totally different countries, then often it is wise to adopt highly formal speech and manner so as not to inadvertently offend the other party. We have found in recent years just how far the East is from the West in so many respects, including the manner in which different cultures go about conducting business. Following are examples from Germany and Japan. German fortunes have risen and fallen throughout the 20th century, but Germany remains the wealthiest and most highly populated of all the European nations. Despite its former political divisions, Germany consistently has been known for more than a century for its precision engineering. Whether the product is Daimler or BMW cars, photographic equipment or Siemens Medical equipment and applications, German engineering has been and remains an envy of much of the Western world. Germanys approach to engineering is not to reserve expertise only for the most promising or profitable industries, but to steep all of German industry in excellence. This tradition extends to textile machinery as well; Germany both imports and exports such machinery, commonly regarded as some of the best available in the entire world. Business travellers would do well to equate the precision of German engineering to the manner in which Germans prefer to conduct their business transactions. They are precise in information and punctuality, and a business meeting is just that. It is not a social occasion; the issue of small talk is one foreign to them. Whereas zeroing in on the point of a meeting would be bad form in Japan or China, it is expected in Germany (Sabath, 1999). Morrison, Conaway and Borden (1994) urge business people to remember that Germanys superlative engineering is not instantaneous, but is the product of a long, laborious process that literally can go on for years. The German reputation for quality is based (in part) on slow, methodical planning. Every aspect of the deal you propose will be pored over by many executives. Do not anticipate being able to speed up this process. This slowness extends through all business affairs. Germans believe that it takes time to do a job properly (Morrison, Conaway and Borden, 1994; p. 130). There is a vast difference between the business culture of todays Japan and that which first set Detroit on its ear in the early 1970s. Then, quality was paramount, and Japanese businessmen were inscrutable. They spoke of quality, honour and courtesy, and they required any foreign business entity wishing to do business with them to convert to their approach, or at least adopt their approach in soliciting them. Japans business culture is in a state of flux at the current time. Traditional values still hold great influence, but they are gradually being shoved aside by the realities of the state of Japans economy. Some things apparently never change, however. Managers in Japan think that if people dont know about something, then the best thing to do is cover it up, says Shuji Oida, a specialist in crisis management with Cosmo Public Relations in Tokyo (Butler and Hadfield, 2000; p. 36). Despite all of these changes, however, the traditional Asian perspective still is paramount in Japan. As stated earlier, the Japanese regard silence as a useful tool and not a reason for any discomfort. Perhaps the most problematic aspect of the Japanese personality is the reluctance to be negative at all. The statement, Ill consider it may well be a no in disguise (Morrison, Conaway and Borden, 1994). The Asian character persists in Japan of course, though Japanese business is much more Western than in the past. Connections are important, as is relative rank. Traditions seem to fall away with each passing year in the US, but other areas of the world are far more committed to their own traditions. Whether springing from their long histories or their own views of their systems superiority makes little difference. The fact of globalization is a stable one, and it will be necessary for anyone hoping to be successful to be fully aware of culturally-based differences in perceptions and how they colour communications between people. CHAPTER 3: ISSUES IN CROSS CULTURAL MARKETING 3.1 Language in cross cultural advertising The second model of international adverting emphasizes the cultural differences among nations. This school of thought recognizes that people worldwide share certain thoughts, but it also stresses the fact that these needs are met differently from culture to culture although the same emotions are basic to all humanity; the degree to which these emotions are expressed publicly varies. The camaraderie typical in an Australian business office are frowned on in Germany, where co-workers often do not use first names. The ways in which we categorize information and the values we attach to people depend on the things and settings in which we were raised.( William, Jhon Sandra) How do cultural differences relate to advertising? According to the high-context/low-context theory, although the function of advertising is the same throughout the world, the mission of its message varies in different cultural settings. The major distinction is because of high context cultures, in which the meaning of a message can be understood in a specific context, and low context cultures, in which the message can be understood as an independent entity. (William, Jhon Sandra) This model helps explain the difficulties of advertising in other languages. The difference between Japanese and English are instructive. English is a low-context language. English words have very clearly defined meanings that are not highly dependent on the words preceding them. In Japanese, however, a word can have multiple meanings. Listeners will not understand the exact meaning of a word unless they clearly understand the following sentence that is the context in which words is used. (William, Jhon Sandra) Advertising message constructed by writers from high context cultures might be different to understand in low context cultures because they may offer too much detail to come to the point clearly. In contrast, messages authored by writers from low context are less difficult to understand in high context because they omit essential context details. (William, Jhon Sandra) Discussing the Japanese way of advertising, Takashi Michioka, president of DYR agency of Young Rubicam and Dentso, put it this way: in Japan, differences among products, does not consist of explaining this words the point of difference is competing products as in America. Differentiation is achieved by bringing out the appeal in the commercial- the way they talk, the music, the scenery-rather than emphasizing the unique features and dissimilarities of the product itself. (William, Jhon Sandra) Companies that want to understand how consumers think and make decisions about products conduct sophisticated consumer behaviour research, to identify their consumers, why they buy, what they buy and how they buy. (William, Jhon Sandra) It also is a visual road map for this chapter. We first explore the target market and then examine social, cultural, and physiological influences on the consumer behavior. 3.2 Communication style in cross cultural advertising The influence of culture on communication is well documented by researchers in many disciplines. One of the most difficult challenges for international marketers is communicating to people of diverse cultures. Cultural differences may exist not only between nations but also within a nation itself. Such cultural and micro cultural differences present a formidable challenge to international marketing and advertising practitioners because the value systems, attitudes, perceptions and communication of individuals and groups are all culturally shaped or influenced (Samover Porter, 1991; Tan, 1986). As research indicates, advertising, a form of social communication, is also influenced by various elements of the originating culture (e.g., Frith Wesson, 1991 ; Hong et al., 1987; Mueller, 1987; Rice Lu, 1988; Tanseyetal., 1990). On the other hand, cultural values may determine the differential meanings that people derive from advertising messages (Cundiff Hilger, 1984; Hornik, 1980; McCracken, 1986; Onkvisit Shaw, 1983). Advertising may also shape or affect the values of its consumers over time (Ewen Ewen, 1982; Ferguson et al., 1990; Pol lay, 1986, 1987). In his research reports, Pollay stated that advertising was a distorted mirror in that it reflects only certain underlying values and lifestyles. He also noted that advertising was a distorting mirror as well, because it strengthened those values by providing reinforcement, and p. 108). It is well documented in many disciplines (e.g., sociology, cultural anthropology, mass communication, marketing, cultural studies, semiotics) that advertising reflects and reinforces many of the social values, norms and stereotypes of its audiences (Coser et al., 1987; Holbrook, 1987; McQuail, 1994; Mueller, 1987; Vestergaard Schroder, 1985). Two well-known semiotic researchers, Fiske and Hartley (1978,1980) noted that advertising does not represent the researchers pointed out that advertising insists on an idealized goal of achieving personal happiness, success and security, and it does this by first depicting a world-o

Overview of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Overview of the Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis was a period of extreme tension and conflict between the USA and Cuba and the USSR in October 1962; it was characterized by decisions made by both John F Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. It was a 13 day event which started as a result of the USSR placing nuclear weapons in Cuba in an attempt to stop future harassment of Cuba following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. The Cuban Missile Crisis was by far the closest that the USA and USSR came to using nuclear weapons in warfare, and it was only by tactile decision making in a crisis that disaster was averted. A crisis is characterised by threats to major values, time urgency, ambiguity or uncertainty and surprise or uniqueness, by these characteristics, the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the biggest crisis of the 20th century. The crisis started when following a meeting between Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev, Khrushchev agreed to hold nuclear missiles in Cuba. This was in response to several threats on Cuba from the USA. The Bay of Pigs invasion, though a failure displayed the USAs negative intentions to the Cuban regime and therefore Castro argued that a nuclear deterrent was the only option for the long term safety of Cuba. This was also a part of the USSRs response to the presence of American Jupiter missiles in both Turkey and Italy, which were firmly in range of Moscow. Following Khrushchev granting Cuba missiles, construction of the missile launch facilities started in the summer of 1962.The deployment of the missiles only came to light following photos taken by a US Air Force U-2 Spy plane. The plane had taken photos which clearly showed both medium and intermediate range nuclear missile facilities. The photos were shown to President Kennedy on October 16th and he quickly organised a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss what options of response the US had (JFK library,1962). This is an example of decision making, where the decision made will have a large and irreversible impact. There were numerous decisions and options discussed from using diplomatic channels to pressure the Cubans to remove the weapons, launch a full scale invasion of Cuba, Air strikes or a blockage (Allison Zeilkow, 1999). While the US had the military capabilities to invade and overthrow Cuba, they feared the Soviet response. It is also important to consider the fact that it was an election year in the US, and JFK had already come under fire by Republicans for a seemingly weak line against Cuba and they did not want to appear weak or afraid of the combined threat of Cuba and the Soviets. This had led to President Kennedy stating before gaining the knowledge of weapons in Cuba that â€Å"if Cuba should possess a capacity to carry out offensive actions against the United States the Unite d States would act’ (Peters Wooley, 1962). This had in effect already forced his arm; he did not want to appear to back down from his promises. In the end the US decided to conduct a naval blockade against Cuba, one of the main reasons for this decision was it made the US appear strong, whilst not forcing the Soviets hand or seemingly overly aggressive. Another key aspect in this is the legal ramifications of a blockade. Under international law, a blockade of another nation is considered to be an act of war, however lawyers at the Justice and State Department found a loophole that avoided the US from issuing a potentially contentious declaration of war. Using the Rio treaty a resolution from the Organization of American states allowed the US from having to declare war upon Cuba, which the Soviets would have objected to (Allison and Zelikow, 1999). The ‘blockade’ was instead termed as a quarantine of offensive weapons. (May, 2012). President Kennedy formally announced the blockade on 22 October in which he stated ‘It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union’ (United Press,2010). The international response was overwhelming with the world realising that they had never been closer to the use of nuclear weapons, and if they were deployedby both the US and the Soviets, there would be worldwide destruction never seen before on such a scale. During this period it is reported not only was there a Cuban invasion force stationed and ready in Florida but also 145 intercontinental ballistic missiles ready to take off, and the fleet of b-52 bombers were on continuous airborne alert, the US it is clear was preparing for a full scale war on a scale not seen since the end of WW2 (Kamps, 2007). On October 24 Soviet ships that were headed for Cuba caused panic when they neared the line of US ships which were actively enforcing the Cuban blockade. However the Soviet ships stopped just short of the blockade, requiring no action from the US. If they had attempted to breach the blockade, it could have easily led to a military confrontation. A further escalation in the crisis was on October 27, when an American spy plane was shot down over Cuba. Despite this overwhelming pressure which seemed to give no sign of slowing down or de-escalating a way was found out of the crisis which avoided a military conflict between the US and Soviets. Throughout the crisis Kennedy and Khrushchev had been communicating and when the crisis was near breaking point, the US told the Brazilian government to pass on a message to Cuba that it would be unlikely that the US would invade Cuba if they removed the missiles (National Security Archive, 2011). What followed was a personal letter from Khrushchev written on 26th October which offered a way out of the stalemate, if the US declared they will not invade Cuba then the Soviets would leave and remove the missiles. However the next day Khrushchev sent another letter which stated they would remove the missile bases in Cuba only if the US removed missiles from both Turkey and Italy’s As the two offers differed President Kennedy said he would accept the first one, this would also be a lot more f avourable his popularity in the US. What followed were intense negotiations between both US and Soviet dignitaries in Washington. Eventually a deal was reached and the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba and to take them back to Russia whilst Kennedy secretly agreed to dismantle weapons bases in both Italy and Turkey. The crisis was over. What the Cuban Missile Crisis is, is an example is of leadership and decision making in a crisis. It was a period of extreme tension, the wrong decision could lead to nuclear war, yet a clear headed and rational decision still had to be made. The decisions that President Kennedy made were made only after looking at the effects both on the world stage and also back in the US. It was a senate election year and President Kennedy couldn’t let any decision he made weakenhis position in the mind of the electorate. Yet he also had to way up the potential devastating impact if the crisis escalated because he wanted to appear strong against the Cuban and Soviet threat. Kennedy had already come under pressure from Republicans, for having a supposedly weak stance on Cuba, so reaching any form of compromise was unthinkable to the Cuban hawks in the Republicans. What this clearly shows is the sheer complexity of the arena that Kennedy had to make his decision in. He had to de-escalate the conflict, which required compromise on his part, whilst appearing strong and not to give in to the Soviet threat. That he managed to do that, and was considered by many at the time to have ‘won’ the crisis is remarkable. We can analyse several of the decisions made by Kennedy, how to respond to the threat and how to deal with the de-escalation of the crisis. When deciding how to respond to the crisis Kennedy and his advisors had to weigh up several key and important factors. As previously mentioned there were several ideas and options to choose from when responding to the initial discovery of missiles in this early stage in the crisis of mounting tension. If the US did nothing, as it was high unlikely that Cuba would use them unprovoked considering the Soviets knew they did not have the same firepower or amount of nuclear warheads as the US, then the crisis would potentially fade away without requiring a military response. However several Republicans had already been criticising Kennedy for being too lenient to Cuba, if it came public that Kennedy did nothing when a nuclear weapon was found 90 miles of the coast of Florida he would appear weak and his leadership credibility would be in tatters. The other extreme would be an escalation of the crisis, either an air-strike or full scale military invasion. While this would certainly win him support back home, it is highly unlikely that the Soviets would not also respond with force, thus starting war between the US and the Soviets. Also President Kennedys allies in the UK, France and in the wider international community would feel that the US went into war too quickly when there was a diplomatic route out of the crisis, thus it would cost him support from his allies. Therefore we can see that the blockade was a good strategic decision for Kennedy to take. It made the US appear strong, meeting the crisis head on, without looking brash and escalating the conflict. Further as previously mentioned there was a legal precedent for it. Thus it is clear this was a good decision to take under the circumstances and time pressure. Kennedy had analysed the impact his decision would have in the US, to the Soviets and Cuba as well as the wide r international community. The blockade made the US look strong but not overly aggressive and more importantly it placed the impetus on Khrushchev to make the next decision to escalate or de-escalate the crisis. Another example of good decision making in the Cuban missile crisis was Kennedy’s decision to accept the removal of missiles in Cuba public, whilst keeping the US withdrawal of missiles in Turkey and Italy secret. He accurately judged how far Khrushchev would stretch diplomatically and calculated that he could create an end to the crisis whilst appearing to have stood firm in the face of Soviet aggression and have forced Khrushchev back down from the US. This was a decision he took after weighing up the options and potential benefits and drawbacks. Kennedy therefore was able to make a clear decision despite threats to major values, large scale uncertainty and a lack of time to concretely analyse every potential outcome of a decision. What inevitably stopped this crisis from escalating into war while other similar crises have ended in warfare is the ability and will of both the Soviets and the US to compromise. In conclusion, we can see that due to decision making a crisis that could have easily ended up in nuclear warfare, ended up with a diplomatic solution. The only reason war was avoided was the rational decision making abilities of a few key players. President Kennedy had to de-escalate a crisis whilst still maintaning control of the situation. That he was able to do this and appear successful both on the world stage and back home is commendable and down to his ability to make clear and calculated desicions under pressure. The US enjoyed the press coverage of a victorious nation and in the senate election that followed the Democrats won three seats, so we can see this as a vote of confidence in the Democrats and Kennedy following the missile crisis. What becomes clear from studying the Cuban Missile Crisis is how important pursuing the correct strategy when attempting to de-escalate a crisis and the need for crisis managers to take rational decisions in face of extreme pressure. Here t he pressure or consequences could not have been greater, yet disaster was avoided by the actions and decision making abilities of crisis managers. References Allison, Graham; Zelikow, Philip. (1999). Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. (1962). Off the Record Meeting on Cuba: The White House. Washington D.C. Kamps, Charles. (2007). The Cuban Missile Crisis. Air Space Power, (3), 88. May, Ernest. (2012, February 7). John F Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/kennedy_cuban_missile_01.shtml#three National Security Archive. (2011). October 26, 1962 to November 15, 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis.Author. Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John.(1962). John F Kennedy. 378-The Presidents News Conference. Santa Barbara, CA: The American Presidency Project. University of Californa. United Press International. (2010, April 22). Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 Year In Review. Retrieved from http://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1962/Cuban-Missile-Crisis

Friendship Essay: The Consequences of Having Friends -- Friendship Essa

Having friends is a natural occurrence in most lives. The majority of people do not think of going anywhere without their friends, especially teenagers. Where these ordinary teens find their acquaintances is in high school. It is where friends are made and hold a substantial role in the students’ lives. High school students choose their friends for various reasons, and some of their choices may result in positive and negative effects. One effect of friends in high school is general influence. For example, peer pressure is an unfortunate, but predominant result of having companions. Several teens look for acceptance in the eyes of their peers. Consequently, they will go to great lengths in order to win their favor, allowing those they desire to befriend to control their actions. Another n...

Breaking Society’s Rules :: Essays Papers

Breaking Society’s Rules American literature often examines people and motives. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, and in Arthur Miller’s dramatic classic, The Crucible, people and motives often depict patterns of Puritans struggling for life during a precarious time. Guilt and shame can tear a person's soul away. The inevitable consequence of sin is the immediate reaction of guilt, shame, and remorse. For example: John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Reverend Dimmesdale have all committed a sin or sins and are feeling extremely guilty about it. They want to be forgiven, but they have no strength and are cowards. Forgiveness can only be obtained when these characters find the strength within themselves to speak the truth. The first to commit a sin is John Proctor, the husband of Elizabeth Proctor. John is a good man until Abigail Williams comes into his life. John lives in a house feeling empty and thinking his wife does not love him. Lust is a very powerful feeling, and it tempts John right into bed with Abigail. Unfortunately once he commits adultery, Elizabeth does not forgive him. She finds ways to punish John and make him feel more remorseful. For example, Reverend Hale asks John to recite the commandments, and he forgets one, Elizabeth then says sarcastically, â€Å"Adultery, John.† Elizabeth responds in such a manner that John feels overwhelming pain in his heart. Naturally, Elizabeth feels guilty as well. She tells John, â€Å"I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery.† Elizabeth feels as though she is to blame for John committing adultery. She is a mother and, of course, Elizabeth will be consumed with taking care of their children, cooking, cleaning, etc. At first, Elizabeth does not recognize John pulling away from her and turning towards Abigail. Soon after Elizabeth finds out John committed adultery with Abby, she fires her. Later on in the novel Elizabeth is accused of being a witch and John goes to court to prove Abigail is lying.