ABC company’s Risk Profile Essay

ABC Company Risk Profile The ABC company is a manufacturing firm that specializes in making cedar roofing and siding shingles, with recent sales at $1.2 million, the company wants to reach the $3 million mark over the next 3 years. As a newly hired Corporate Controller for this company, I have been assigned the task of developing and overlooking a new plan made by the CEO that will use some of the shingle scrap materials to build cedar houses. The newly develop plan will certainly bring new challenges for the company on the form of increased cost and labor; However it will also provide additional revenue and gross profit to help reach the growth targets. On this paper I would go over the details of the report made for the CEO that includes information on the overall risk profile based on actual market conditions, a current company cash flow, the product cost and any potential investments that might accelerate profits. See more:  The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Essay The Risk profile for this company includes several different factors that are mostly due to current market conditions, and the level of risk the company will face by adding extra inventory and expenses. Unfortunately risk is a reality of doing business, whether the company is large or small, public or private, risk will always be present since nothing on the business world warrants a guarantee. Some of the key risk points are: Inventory represents a big portion of the cash flow, therefore having extra inventory on hand will have an impact on the company’s future cash flow; payroll is also directly related to the cash flow since it takes a big portion of the monthly budget, therefore increasing the manufacturing capabilities of the factory as well as adding a new line of production will increase the payroll thus having an impact on cash flow reports; Economic downturn, that might affect prices of inventory to be purchased, therefore affecting the potential growth as well as hav ing an impact on reaching  forecasted company goals.

Importance of Building a Relationship For a Salesperson, and What Organizations and Sales people do to Build Relationships With Customers

In the business world today, customers have not only become fastidious but also more demanding and unforgiving. This explains the reason as to why any salesperson needs to be more aggressive and make a good impression the first time he gets in contact with customers. According to Calvin (2007), getting good business sales is the natural outcome of an established relationship of trust between the salesperson and the customers. The closure of sales after the establishment of a good and trustworthy relationship becomes the easiest part in the sales process. Portraying a first good and perfect impression requires good communication and presentation skills for the salesperson. The salesperson is expected to please a first time stranger, and convince them that he is reliable. Most often, the salesperson is terrified and does not know what kind of response to expect from the first time client. This stage is very important as it is able to determine whether such a client will become a customer who can always purchase from the salesperson or not. If the salesperson is able to win the confidence and trust of the customers at the first instance, he is likely to enjoy a competitive advantage in the market over other business people. Goods sales trainings invests a lot of attention and time in teaching salespeople the required skills for building relationships. The skills mainly taught for the sales people include learning to listen to others, and creation of creation of confidence (Honeycutt, 2003). The salesperson should show that he understands the concerns and needs of a particular customer. By doing this, the customer is likely to create confidence in the salesperson and will often want to purchase any goods or services offered by the salesperson. A salesperson should be able to create trust by being able to communicate about information concerning a specific product that the seller is willing to offer and clearly linking this information to the concerns and needs of the customer. Teaching of presentation skills is done in the aspect of and in the context of creating a trustful and open relationship between salespeople and the clients. Techniques of closing stock should then be looked into briefly as part of the big picture of good presentation skills for sales people. According to Acuff and Wood (2004), the focus for building relationships as opposed to just concentrating on the sale of a product is important in the present world than ever before. Various reasons have been given to show why building of relationships is important. To begin with, the changes taking place in the world have necessitated the salespeople to take charge in the market, so as to win confidence for the customers. Sales people have realized that they should be leaders of the current changes taking place in the market, they do this by informing people about new products in the market and convincing them how such products or services are likely to meet their needs and concerns. By being able to win confidence from the customers, they are able to win more customers. A salesperson who does this will be able to absolutely convince customers that what he is selling is a safe and sure solution for the customers problem. Another importance of focusing on an open and trustworthy relationship is because of the need to enjoy a competitive advantage in the market. When a good product gets into the market, other competitors quickly come up with a similar product. A salesperson who has already established a strong relationship with his clients is able to retain them, despite the tough competition. The third reason touches on the development of technology. With the introduction of unique and complex goods in the market, customers have been having fears of buying some products which may cause them harm in future, or products they cannot be able to maintain. Salespeople should know how to win customers under this circumstances, by explaining about the usefulness of such products, and showing how well they understand such a product. Salespeople who focus on the creation of a relationship at the heart of their activities have been producing excellent results in their work (Baker, 2003). Sales Ethics, and Why The Topic is Receiving so Much Attention Today Honeycutt (2003) stated that sales ethics cannot be defined or explained with the exception of all other ethical values. Sales ethics in fact emanates from the entire organizational values which guide the day to day activities of the organization. There is actually no specific code in the area of business that has been separately dedicated to sales ethics. Therefore, the approach used to define sales ethics is the approach used to look at ethics in general. According to Baker (2003), sales ethics refer to those standards of conduct which a salesperson is supposed to observe while carrying out his business practice. A salesperson should carry out his duty with integrity, honesty and intelligence, with the ultimate goal of realizing the vision and mission of the company he or she is working for. Many corporations today are emphasizing on the practice of sales ethics among their salespeople. Researchers have argued that, salespeople are not required to follow a written statement of ethics because they are not ethical, but because they are placed in a working environment where they are faced by ethical challenges every now and then, unlike other people in employment. Researchers have sated that companies should take enough time to educate salespeople on how to approach ethical dilemmas in their areas of work. Unlike other workers who have their bosses to consult when faced with ethical challenges, salespeople often face the problem while on the road, they therefore lack anyone to consult and are left to tackle the problem alone. Sales ethics helps to prevent many loses that a company can get from unethical behaviors of the salespeople such as over promising customers, and failure to observe certain sales regulations like the FDA's rules for pharmaceuticals, which may lead to great loses for the company. It has also been claimed that ethics addresses and supports what some scholars call, â€Å"the gray areas of selling,† (Acuff & Wood, 2004). Though this areas may not have any legal implications, lack of knowledge and skills to address them may cause great damage to the company and to the sales career. They include the use of assets available in the company, this may involve misuse of expense reports, computers, cars, and other important equipments in the company. The handling of customer relationships, this may involve forms of abuse such as over promising, overselling, over telling, under informing, and overstocking. The handling of competitor relationships involve spying and tampering on the affairs of the customers outside the scope of business and disparagement. Sales ethics also enable the salesperson to handle relationships with supervisors and peers and to avoid certain acts like false reporting or abuse of territory poaching. Being able to avoid conflicts of interest while working including improper disclosure, and to avoid offering of entertainment and gifts in excess of customers and corporate policies. Where companies have established formal policies to guide the behavior of sales people, they have been able to create good customer relationships and competitive sales. Salary, Commission and Combination Pay Plans, Their Advantages and Disadvantages. According to Calvin (2007), salary refers to the amount of money which an employee is entitled to receive at the end of the month. The employee as long as he or she performs his obligation is entitled to get the set amount of money, whether the company incurs looses or makes profits. This mode of payment has been deemed to be favorable to the employees due to the fact that, they are protected against any unforeseen looses that may occur in the company. Companies which offer employees a permanent salary have the advantage of retaining their workers for a long period of time. Such workers feel secured in the company, and are stable in their operation. This allows the company an opportunity to train their workers, specifically salespeople on the necessary skills, such as building of healthy relationships with clients. This in turn promotes production and maximizes profits for the whole organization. On the other hand however, employees who get a constant salary can relax and refuse to offer the best of their output, since they are sure sure to get their pay whether the company makes profits or not, this is disadvantageous for the company. Acuff and Wood (2004) expressed that commission payment is a payment plan where the employee is entitled to a certain percentage of money from the sales he or she makes. For instance, an employee selling an item whose price is 10 U. S dollars may be entitled to10% as his commission. Many studies have shown that this is an appropriate way of motivating salespeople. Such employees put much of their effort to ensure a maximum sale, so as to earn more commission. With this type of payment plan, an employee can earn as much as they want depending on their performance. This system in fact ensures maximum performance in a company. However, it has been argued that employees in such payment programs are often faced with the challenge of job insecurity and tend to keep changing jobs. A company is likely to loose employees every now and then. This undermines the efforts of establishing a good relationship between salespeople and the customers. In effect, the organization may not be in a position to maximize the sale of its products. The combination plan involves employees getting a certain amount of money as retainer, and then getting the additional compensation as a commission. According to Baker (2003), this is the most effective way of compensating salespeople. By considering the nature of a sales job, it is important that a salesperson is protected against uncertainties especially when sales are so low, by giving them some amount of money as a retainer. The additional commission works as a motivator. This method is therefore said to be the best for salespeople because it serves both sides, securing an employee who can through this plan be retained by the company for its benefit, and motivating the employee to produce the best for the benefits of the company. Critiques however argue that this plan can in certain circumstances be expensive for the company (Honeycutt, 2003).

Analysing The Characters Of Hedda Gabler English Literature Essay

Analysing The Characters Of Hedda Gabler English Literature Essay We are introduced to Hedda Gabler as the daughter of the venerated General Gabler, and as a woman born into an extremely wealthy aristocratic family. Though having lived a pampered life, she believed her time as a single woman was growing thin, leading her to marry George Tesman, a man she clearly no longer has feelings for – if indeed she ever did. Throughout the rest of Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler, we observe how Hedda’s obsession with freedom and free will conflict with the norms of nineteenth-century society which surrounds her, leading her to manipulate those around her, and eventually her own death. It would seem that Hedda’s greatest asset throughout the play is her ability to manipulate the individuals around her. The tediousness of monogamy is most likely the largest driving factor for her scheming all through the play: â€Å"How mortally bored I’ve been†Ã‚   [ 1 ]   as she conveys it to Judge Brack. The deception of others i s one of her solutions to the suppressed life she must lead under the nineteenth-century societal standards. We witness her feign friendship in the conversation between her and Miss Tesman, all the while deviously making remarks about her hat: â€Å"Look there! She has left her old bonnet lying aboutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fancy, if anyone should come in and see it!†.   [ 2 ]    We witness her clandestine motives when she burns Eilert Là ¸vborg’s manuscript and convinces her husband that she did it because she â€Å"could not bear the idea that any one should throw you [George] into the shade†.   [ 3 ]   We also see evidence of her suppressed emotions as she â€Å"walks about the room, raising her arms and clenching her fists as if in desperation†.   [ 4 ]   Her greatest skill however lies with her ability to extort information and secrets from others; as Eilert remarks about their past relationship: â€Å"[I] told you about myself, things that no on e else knew†.   [ 5 ]   She frequently displays her talent of asking questions without actually answering any on her part; soon after, Eilert asks: â€Å"What was the power in you that forced me to confess these things?† to which Hedda replies elusively: â€Å"Do you think it was any power in me?†.   [ 6 ]   Hedda feels as though she can suppress the boredom in her life by obtaining power over others. When asked by Mrs. Elvsted why she is manipulating Eilert so, she replies: â€Å"I want for once in my life to have power to mould a human destiny†.   [ 7 ]   Although Hedda is wealthy, she considers herself lacking in influence, and thereby poor. If Hedda cannot attain any sort of power – whether it is political, authoritative, or pecuniary – then she must find power through the lives of others. Because Hedda is proscribed from carrying out the life that she wishes to live, she finds that she must live vicariously. However, the life of another woman – namely Mrs. Elvsted – would not suit Hedda’s criteria, for she is just as subdued as any other woman during that time. We come across this notion when Hedda asks to Là ¸vborg:

Any thing as long it has something to do with the study of Essay

Any thing as long it has something to do with the study of environmental hazards - Essay Example Various researches have indicated that the Amazon forest is shrinking. This is a serious environmental hazard as depletion of the Amazons leads to serious environmental outcomes. These outcomes have been detailed by Philip Fiernside in his article on Environmental Change and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Another article by Laurance, W.F and his fellow researchers published in Science Journal titled ‘The Future of the Brazilian Amazon’ discusses the same issue. These articles are critically analyzed in this paper. These articles is further compared and contrasted in this essay. The article on ‘Environmental Change and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon’ addresses the implications of Amazon rain forests depletion. This paper provided explicit information on the consequences of the rainforest depletion. This however does not provide additional information on available knowledge in the researched subject. For instance Dickinson (1981) has studied and documented he effects of tropical deforestation on climate. However, this paper was generic in comparison with Fearrside’s paper. The observations which were generically made by other researchers were specifically applied in the case of Amazon forests by Fearrside. Thus the findings of the paper are the reiteration of other researches done on the subject. The article is a paper presented at the Symposium on Change in the Amazon Basin, 44th International Congress of Americanists at Manchester (Fearnside, 1985). The article introduces data suggesting depletion of the Amazons. The paper in its introduction has referred to various other researches which have estimated the shrinkage of the rainforest. It also briefly discusses the causes of deforestation. Further, the paper explains the soil degradation concerns associated with deforestation. Leaching and Fixation of Nutrients, Soil Compaction and Clay Migration, Erosion, Laterization, Aerosol and Nutrient Supply are the concerns which are identified by the paper with regard to soil degradation (Fearnside, 1985). The research has also dealt with the production systems which are associated with the Amazons and the impact of deforestation over these also has been discussed. Agriculture, Fisheries and Forest Production in connection with the Amazons will be seriously affected (Fearnside, 1985). The macro ecological concerns posed by forest depletion have been also included in the paper. Similar studies has been conducted by Gomez-Pompa (1972) The most distinguishable feature of the paper on Environmental Change and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is that while covering the impact of deforestation, it has covered a wide range of concerns. The paper is thus interdisciplinary in nature. It has covered the direct environmental issues using quantitative data from other researches. More indirect impacts like the concerns over production systems have been dealt both quantitatively and qualitatively. The coverag e of Macro-ecological concerns gives more depth to the research. Issues like that of the indigenous people also have been dealt in the paper. This sociological approach makes the paper interdisciplinary and wider in its approach. This approach of the paper fills the gap that earlier researches have left with. Most of the studies prior to this study focused on evidences for ecological damages that deforestation causes. However, the fact that the adverse impacts on

Explanation of Positive Behavioral Support Matrix Essay

Explanation of Positive Behavioral Support Matrix - Essay Example The steps which are essential for process of PBS are the following,1. Behavior support team building: The process begins by developing a team which will be consists of the key stakeholders who are involved with the school children’s life. Family members, friends, and early educator can be the part of the team.2. Child-oriented planning: This process brings the team members together and discusses the strength of the child and his future vision and mission which will ultimately support the child and his family.3. Behavioral and functional assessment: It involves the collection of data, observing them, and analysis of the information to develop a clear and proper understanding of the relationship between the events which trigger the behavior of the child. 4. Development of hypothesis: Assessment process can be completed by a proper behavioral hypothesis statement. It will give a summarized view about the behavior, triggers, and its consequences. 5. Development of support plan: Ac cording to the result of hypothesis a support plan should be developed, the components of which should be related to the prevention strategy which will be in the alignment with the problem behavior.6. Monitor outcome: Evaluate the outcome and effectiveness. It should include the measurement of positive changes in problem behavior and achieve new skill for a more efficient outcome.Positive behavioral support is related to three kinds of prevention level such as primary level, secondary level and tertiary level (Sailor, 2009).

Batch and Real-Time Processing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Batch and Real-Time Processing - Assignment Example sic variation between the two is that batch processing involves ‘batches’ whereas real-time processing involves single input (Bernstein, & Newcomer, 2009). In this case, batch processing is preferred. The preference of batch processing lies on its simplicity over real-time processing. With batch processing, data sets are collected and integrated to form a single input. As such, it becomes easy to control the input to achieve the desired output. Batch processing entails the input, processing, and output. Therefore, similar data sets are processed as one data set to achieve an output. The figure below represents a hypothetical batch processing transaction. As evident in Figure 1, electricity consumption rates are summed up into one data set and processed to produce electricity bills. On the contrary, a real-time processing would process individual electricity consumption rates and produce respective electricity bills. As such, the difference is evident. The batch processing system requires inputs to be queued for a set time or quantity before they are processed whereas the real-time processing system requires a continuous cycle of input-process-output. A batch processing system is applicable in a payroll system that involves end-of-cycle processing. Similar to electricity bills, a payroll system is active at set intervals (weekly or monthly). It is prudent to employ batch processing as it collects working hours and integrates them into a single batch at the end of the interval to produce pay slips for employees. It would be time consuming to employ real-time processing where an end-of-cycle processing is required. A batch processing system is efficient for a payroll system. The figure below represents the application of batch processing system in an end-of-cycle processing A batch processing system is applicable in a stock management system. The core advantage of the batch processing system is that it is automated; hence, minimal human interaction. Stock

Training professionals have a leading role in innovation and change Essay

Training professionals have a leading role in innovation and change - Essay Example This has transformed and redefined the role of trainers from merely developing programs to holistic assistance and monitoring, as well as motivating the employees to share information and knowledge amid themselves. The essay discusses the roles and responsibilities of training professionals to bring about innovation in the present day’s business. The approach of the training professionals towards the design and delivery of the developmental programs for the training of the employee workforce, have also been discussed. The essay finally compares and contrasts the innovative training and development programs of two Australian organizations. The training professional plays a major role in the 21st century businesses. The significance of the responsibility in relation to the approach of training professionals can be understood from all the positive alterations that occur as a result of training and development programs in an organization. According to Vemic, the approach of traini ng professionals presently acts as the originator of new expertise and knowledge among the employees. Training professionals persuade creativity as well as inventiveness and form the skill base of the complete organization. The skill base and knowledge bestows the organizations with exclusive characteristics and distinguishes it from its peers (Vemic, â€Å"Employee Training and Development and the Learning Organization†). Based on the similar context, White & Bruton state that any organization has to realign itself and concentrate on new technologies, new procedures as well as new approaches of performing activities, in order to become innovative. However, no organization can accomplish innovativeness if its employees are not properly trained and possess cognitive skills and knowledge. Thus, the role of training professionals is crucial because they ensure the presence or availability of adequately trained human resources in the organization for its innovative ventures (Whit e & Bruton, â€Å"The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach†). Furthermore, Hargreaves & Jarvis stated that in today’s competitive world, innovation and change is a continuous as well as a rapid process. The tasks of training professionals vary depending on the type of innovation the organization is looking forward to. The training professional requires the support of higher management as well as external alignment in instances of radical change. Major reorganization of the company or their product line would require the training professional to develop multi skilled employees, since such kind of changes are strategic in nature and have a wide impact on the organization. On the other hand routine changes for the enhancement of the prevailing arrangement or service, necessitates the training professional to develop necessary skills and coordination amongst the involved team. The training professionals undertake a very complex role in the current scenario. They act as proactive agents of change for the development of innovative strategies in the organization. They also act as ‘providers’ contributing training to the employee workforce designed to enhance and maintain the performance of the company (Hargreaves & Jarvis, â€Å"

Research essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research - Essay Example While every religion has its claims to salvation all of them contradict each other. Hence either all are wrong or one of them is right since they all cannot be true as well as this would violate the law of non-contradiction thereby making religious pluralism invalid. We can however base the truth of Jesus being the only way to salvation with proof of history, documented reliability of the bible and the resurrection of Christ. The world situation today certainly brings us to a point where we are left to contemplate on our ways and create new means of holding on to our sanity through religious means. This brings us to look upon someone who can show us the way and enlighten us with the truth. Who else can fit the role precisely other than Jesus Christ who has been acknowledged through the ages as the savior of the world. People try to follow their accepted religion with fervor and hope, it is when they fail to attain the peace and happiness that they so long for, that they look for guidance. When they realize that with their own ways and means of adhering to rituals and rites cannot gain satisfaction they reach out to other means of salvation. There are many prophets and teachers who have enlightened the human race with their concepts and ways. But this has failed to change the attitude of people who rebel against religion itself. In the name of religion there has been a phenomenal effort put into creating our own gods and god men who have laid down the rules and rituals to encourage their religion with dynamic zeal all through history. While the pluralistic world has great appeal to most people for its wide tolerance and defiance to back any religion, this is another way for person to live his life without restrictions and boundaries. It is difficult to relate to very different religion like atheistic Buddhism to the monolithic Islam or Christianity. Judging the beliefs and aspects of each

Organization Attractiveness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organization Attractiveness - Assignment Example In the general workforce, the two mentioned attributes can be said to be highly applicable to recruiting talent. This is because in a well motivated organization, there is very little for employees to look outside for (Greenberg & Sweeney, 2010). Because employees get all that they require by way of salary, allowances and other forms of remuneration, chances that they will be looking elsewhere after settling for a new job are less. Meanwhile, the longer employees try their hands on one thing, the better they become with their talents (Silzer & Dowell, 2010). Engagement is also necessary in recruiting talent because it is the only way by which employees can have a feeling that their talents are being respected and being put to use (Felps et al., 2009). As far as talented people are concerned, there are other attributes that contribute to their selection of one organization other the other. A working environment that encourages growth is one such attribute. This is because every talented person wants to work in an environment where original talent will not only be utilized but also nurtured to grow (Greenberg & Sweeney, 2010). Finally, competition is crucial for talented people because it forces them to always look out for more in terms of making use of what they already have. Felps, W., Mitchell, T. R., Hekman, D. R., Lee, T. W., Holtom, B. C., & Harman, W. S. (2009). Turnover contagion: How coworkers job embeddedness and job search behaviors influence quitting. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3),

A literary analysis of The Red Masque of Death Research Paper

A literary analysis of The Red Masque of Death - Research Paper Example He also used gothic tales at times to raise questions about the cultural anxieties of his era†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (50). Similarly the Masque of Red Death is one of the master pieces of Poe’s works. This story depicts a tale of the lives of the aristocracy. In order to save his loyal and noble friends and their families from a fatal disease called Red Death Prince Prospero arranges for an estate where all his fellow aristocrats would be safe from the death and disease. Through this story Poe mocks the social hierarchy and its discrimination according to which the commoners should suffer all the decay and disease as stated in the story, â€Å"the external world could take care of itself† (106). Here the external world represents the commoners while the nobles are kept safe in the walls of the royal estate. Poe makes use of various stylistic and linguistic techniques in his short story to illustrate death which is the bitterest reality of life and tries to make his readers under stand that in the eyes of God and fate bloodlines hold no importance because the ultimate end of every human being is death. 2. Theme of Death The concept of death that Poe uses in the story itself represents plague. This plague can be perceived as the decaying and degeneration of human morals and ethical values, injustices of the social hierarchy as well as the invincible side of human nature that leads them to believe that this life is permanent instead of a temporary habitat. The various techniques that Poe uses to demonstrate the theme of death includes color imagery, symbol of the seven rooms and the indirect amalgamation of the concepts of Christian mythology with over all destruction and degeneration that is usually associated with death. 2.1. Color Imagery As it is also apparent from the title the red color has a lot of symbolic significance in the prose as red is the color of passion and it is also associated with anger and wrath. In terms of the title the color red can als o be interpreted as the symbolic representation of wrath of Poe that is directed towards the absurd social strictures of the society and the mentality of human beings who believe that wealth and royal bloodlines gives them the testimony and asserts that misery and suffering cannot reach them because of their superior stature in the society. As Sova also suggests, â€Å"The story also contains elements of an allegory that represents death as being inseparable despite one’s social status and all human efforts to run from it and shut it out† (110). The gradual progression of the inhabitants of Prospero’s estate from one colored room to another at the party also holds a lot of symbolic significance. As Quinn and Rosenheim also state that, â€Å"The description of luxurious chambers of prince prospero leads, step by step, to flaming scarlet of the last room, which throws its weird light against the ebony blackness of the velvet curtains† (331). The contrast of red against black is very dark yet vibrant. According to Pennell’s understanding, â€Å"†¦decorated in black the final room glows in red the two colors associated with passion and death† (55). Another interpretation of this contrasting pairing of the two colors can also be that it is Poe’s style of mocking his fellow beings according to which black symbolizes the monotonous life and ignorance of the elite class and figuratively the eminent red color reiterates a death knell or an

Gambino Cleaning Products Salesman System Specification Essay Example for Free

Gambino Cleaning Products Salesman System Specification Essay A new system of calculating and reporting on cleaning products salesmen is to be designed and implemented. Cleaning products salesmen commission is based on a set of data which is the monthly sales of cleaning products sold by the salesmen. Objectives The new system must: * Be automated as far as possible, needing no thorough knowledge of spreadsheets, databases or any other software in order to operate it. * Have fitted controls to ensure precision and completeness of data input. * Take into account commission payments from monthly sales. * Print commission reports for each of the salesmen, and a summary report showing total paid to each salesman and overall total. * Include an option to delete commission records previous to a given date so that the file does not increase for an indefinite period. The proposed new system can be shown in a level 0 data flow diagram as follows: A level 1 Data Flow Diagram of the proposed system is as follows: User functions 1. The Commissioning Salesman in the Sales Department will be responsible for entering all details of new cleaning products salesman and new products. 2. An Accounts clerk will have special responsibility for the commission system. 3. The Accounts clerk will enter each month the sales of each product, giving quantity sold and gross sales value (i.e. quantity X cover price). 4. Every 6 months, the Accounts clerk will produce the Commission reports for each cleaning products salesman. This will show the commission that has been earned in the previous 6 months. A payment is then recorded and a cheque issued to each cleaning products salesman to whom commission is due, together with the Commission statement showing sales details, and the statement from the Accounts system the total amount due. Database specification Menu structure The many functions of the Commission System will be accessed by means of a front-end menu, which will have the following structure. The data model There are three main entities in this system related in the entity relationship diagram shown below. Because a many-to-many relationship cannot be applied in a relational database, an additional entity named Salesman/Product is introduced. The ERD can now be drawn as follows: The database for Gambino cleaning products salesman system specification will have the following tables: tblSalesman (SalesmanID, Surname, FirstName) tblProduct (ProductID, ProductName, SalesTeam, Price) tblSalesman/Product (ProductID, SalesmanID, StandardCommission, BonusCommission) tblSales (SalesNumber, ProductID, Date, QuantitySold, GrossValue) Name Type Meaning Range Where Used tblSalesman Table Salesman Table tblProduct Table Product Table tblSalesman/Product Table Salesman/Product Table tblSales Table Sales Table SalesmanID Text (5) Unique ID Primary key in tblSalesman Foreign key in tblSalesman/Product Surname Text (20) Salesmans Surname tblSalesman Firstname Text (15) Salesmans first name tblSalesman ProductID Text (5) Unique product code Primary key in tblProduct Foreign key in tblSalesman/Product ProductName Text (40) Product title tblProduct SalesTeam Text (40) All salesman who sell a product tblProduct Price Currency Product price tblProduct StandardCommission Number Percentage commission on each product sold 1-10 tblSalesman/Products BonusCommission Number Bonus percentage commission on each products sold 11-20 tblSalesman/Products SalesNumber Number 1=Standard commission 2=Bonus Commission 1 or 2 tblSales QuantitySold Number Number of products sold tblSales GrossValue Currency Data Dictionary Input Specification Three input forms will be required. frmProducts This will be used to enter product details. frmSalesman This will be used to enter details of a salesman and all products on which they receive commission. The commission percentages for each product will be entered in a subform of the main form. Validation methods: The Product ID will be selected from a drop-down list of existing Product IDs. Once a Product ID is entered, the product name will be automatically displayed. frmTransaction This form will be used to enter transactions. Validation methods: Only valid dates will be accepted. The Product ID will be selected from a drop down list of existing Product IDs. Once a Product ID is entered, the product name will be automatically displayed. Selecting a radio button so that only a valid alternative can be selected will choose the transaction type. Process Specification Commission Calculations To calculate the commission for a given transaction, a query has to be performed to combine attributes from tblTransaction, tblProduct, tblProduct/Salesman and tblSalesman. The calculation of the commission is performed as follows: If TransactionType = 1 (i.e sales) ThenRate = StandardCommissionRate ElseRate = BonusCommissionRate endif Amount = Rate * GrossValue These processes will be carried out in qryCommission. This query will be the source of both the commission report and the summary report. Maintenance Each year, transactions prior to a given date will be removed from tblTransactions. This prevents the transaction file from becoming too large and slowing down the system. The maintenance will be carried out as follows: Run a Delete query to delete records from tblTransaction. Test Plan Tests will be carried out using valid and invalid data and data at the extremes of acceptable values.

Eva smiths diary Essay Example for Free

Eva smiths diary Essay I have just come back off my summer holiday. Me and the girls have decided to go on strike because of the wages. We only want 25shillings a week instead of 23 shillings. After I have paid for the rent for my room and food I have no money for anything else. I know Birling could afford it, it is hardly anything to say how much hes got.  Birling! I hate that name. I never want to hear that stupid name again. Im glad I never have to take a step in that stupid factory AGAIN. All we asked for 3 shillings more but no that greedy, plump, bald, fat man doesnt agree so he gave all three of us the sack. What a great position thats left me in no income, no job I will probably be out on the streets in a couple of weeks. I dont know what to do I need to look for a job now. I was lucky enough to get that job. Why did I have to open my big mouth. I bet some girls will do anything for that job, but I have to take it for advantage of it and get myself sacked. Its not like working in a factory was that bad ok the hours were long, the work was hard and there was difficult working conditions but at least I had a job. Im sorry I havent written for a while but nothings being happening. Ive had to live on basically nothing. Something so great has happened today. I went round some shops looking for a shop job and this womens clothes shop Milwards offered me a job! The pay is quite good the hours are reasonable. The boss couldnt find anybody else because of the flu. I am so pleased me and the girls are going out tonight to celebrate I hope I dont have a thickhead for my first day. Im so worried because this tom of a woman came in today and started complaining. She said I was trying to rise in to higher class all because I looked in the mirror with a dress held up against me. The boss took her side as well only because she threatened to withdraw her mothers account. That woman is nothing but a self centred, higher class, tom. Please hope and pray that I dont get sacked from Milwards its been the only reason Im still living my life. Today I got into Milwards like usually and the boss sacked me there and then. I bet it was that tom that came in earlier this week. I bet she used her selfish power to get me sacked. Now I am in this position again no job no income. I only had that job for a couple of months and I was doing a grand job at it too the black mailed boss even said so.  Ive just been reading this diary and have decided my life is not worth living as Eva Smith. All I have had is bad luck, when I thought I have had some good luck its ruined by bad luck. Ive admitted it my life is not worth living! Im going to change my life for the good. A new beginning new name Im going to call myself Daisy, thats a pretty name and might bring me good luck. I met this man called Gerald. He is so kind, so Georges hes the kind I would like to marry. This is the good part he asked me if I wanted to meet up in 2 days and of course I said yes so Im going to get myself all doled up in a couple of days to meet him. Im so excited. Theres something a bit fishy about him though!  I meet up with Gerald he has the softest touch, Hes not like the average man he is gentle and not forceful. We are now a couple now, he said we will be secret lovers. I dont know what he means by this I still think theres something strange about him but I cant explain it. He doesnt show me around to all his mates like the others he keeps me reserved. Who cares, we are together now and thats all that matters. Im going to see him on Thursday hope it goes well!

Media Essays Media Fiction Fact

Media Essays Media Fiction Fact Media Fiction Fact ‘Media portrayals of law, be they fiction or fact, are inevitably distortions of reality’. Discuss with reference to the module’s readings and, if relevant, illustrate with specific examples drawn from the seminars Introduction ‘I think we can say that the public’s attitude to the criminal justice system is greatly, probably dominantly, affected and influenced by what they read in newspapers, hear on radio, watch on television and, now of course, see on the internet. In other words the media’. As the noted legal journalist, Marcel Berlins explains, the media has become a powerful and significant source of legal information and a means by which individual perceptions about the law are formed and shaped. The concern however, is that the media is also capable of persuading people to adopt and endorse notions about the legal system that are based on ‘misconceptions, false facts or prejudice’. By using various images and sounds the media is able to influence the public’s reaction to legal issues, and convince the public to accept the media’s distorted perspective. The question then becomes whether all media representations are a distortion of reality or whether the media is also capable of accurately portraying the law. Information and representations become distorted when they are presented in a manner that is misleading and inconsistent with their original form. The case of Caesar Barber is a clear illustration of media’s ability to present the law in a manner that falls within the definition of distortion. Caesar Barber commenced a class action lawsuit against various fast food restaurants for failing to inform the public about the harmful risks associated with the consumption of fast food. Although, the aim of the lawsuit was to raise public awareness and attempt to make large corporations legally accountable for their ‘pervasive deceptions’, the media, in an attempt to attract readers, used various tactics to undermine the importance and socio-legal implications of the case. Various newspapers and reputable journalists used catchy phrases, humorous pictures and witty headlines to give the story an entertainment quality and create market value. According to some commentators, the media must resort to these theatrical antics and dramatic techniques in order to retain its ‘mass appeal’. As Margaret Thornton notes, the media are forced to present distorted images of the legal system in order to secure ratings and retain its power and influence over the public: ‘Accurate portrayals, such as the American TV series, Paper Chase, which was located in a law school, have had to be withdrawn because of their unpopularity. Similarly, the exploration and explication of legal doctrine are considered to be too dull and complex for popular media’. Thus, as a business, the media responds to market pressures by employing various tactics to attract consumers including using misleading headlines and false images to incite emotional responses. It is precisely because the media picks and chooses what to focus on, that they inevitably misrepresent the law and blur the line between fact and fiction. Events are defined as being fictitious if they are untrue, imaginary or based on a false belief. Although the term ‘fiction’ is usually equated with the imagination, fictitious events can include real people and experiences, but are primarily viewed as a form of entertainment. In contrast, a fact is usually equated with truth and reality and is defined in law as ‘a thing that is indisputably the case’ or ‘the truth about events as opposed to interpretation’. The distinction between fact and fiction is fading as reality is becoming more fictionalized through the media’s use of narrative devices such as metaphors. It is the media’s ability to present their version of the story in a realistic manner that makes it difficult for the public to discern the truth. Although there is strong support for the argument that ‘media portrayals of the law, be they fiction or fact, are inevitably distortions of reality’, the real issue is whether this is indeed a cause for concern. Many media critics are concerned that the media will inevitably undermine the public’s confidence in the judiciary, lawyers and the legal system. This anxiety is founded on the idea that the media is the chief or sole source of legal information, and that audiences are incapable of resisting media influences in formulating their opinions about the law. The aim of this paper therefore, will be to explore the relationship between the media and the law, and examine the ways in which the media distorts the law through representations of reality based on fact and fiction. The last part of the paper will be devoted to examining whether or not the media’s ability to misrepresent the law is indeed as problematic and worrisome as it first appears. Relationship between the media and the law The media and the law are inextricably linked in a number of ways. Firstly, the media is the subject of legal discourse. Lawyers, judges and policy makers are constantly involved in the regulation of different forms of media such as the radio, television, newspapers, and the internet. Media regulation has become an important legal issue and attempts have been made to develop rules restricting media content and to determine who should have control over the production of media forms. Secondly, the law and media are connected through media communications about the law and legal events. Whether it is an advertisement for a law firm, a reality courtroom programme, a newspaper article on a current legal event, or an internet blog on a controversial legal issue, the media is a constant source of legal information. Although the law is probably most visible in highly institutionalized places such as the courts, law firms and police stations, it is also present through media representations of crime and justice. It is through media portrayals of law that the relationship between the law and media manifests itself. As Sheila Brown states, ‘By depicting the processes of law and justice within the dramatic conventions of reality TV, courtroom soap opera, the voyeurism of human interest, and the aesthetics of visuality, media culture and the law sometimes appear to become indivisible domains’. The relationship between the media and the law is further strengthened by the fact that both are present in our everyday lived experience. A common sense approach to understanding the concept of the ‘everyday life’ suggests that it is ‘the routine act of conducting one’s day-to-day existence’. Based on this view, the everyday is simply a representation of individual experiences that impact on the formation of one’s opinions and identity. Since the everyday life is interwoven into human experience it is both patently obvious and hidden because it is often ‘taken-for-granted’. As Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns note, quoting from Schutz and Luckmann’s Structures of the Life World, ‘The world of everyday life is consequently man’s fundamental and paramount reality†¦It is the unexamined ground of everything given in my experience†¦the taken-for-granted frame in which all the problems which I must overcome are placed’. The law is representative of the everyday life because it is an integral part of our daily routine and plays a significant role in various aspects of our life such as our family, career, community and education. From filing for divorce, to claiming sexual harassment in the workplace, or to suffering an injury at the hands of a drunk driver we encounter the law on a daily basis in its various shapes and forms. It is precisely because the law is an integral part of our every day experience that it becomes a dominant source of knowledge that ‘helps shape experiences, interpretations, and understandings of social life’. However, because the law is a component of one’s daily routine and habits, people are generally unaware of the law’s influence over their daily experiences and conceptions of social life. The same principle can be said to apply to the media. Like the law, the media penetrates our daily lives, helps formulate our understanding of social reality, and its influence and power in shaping individual perceptions of the world is frequently ignored. Thus, the media are often viewed as both entertainers and an ‘agents of socialization’ who play a significant role in shaping the public’s understanding of the law and legal processes. As a dominant source of legal information, the media is often viewed as the primary means by which the law is able to become a part of the everyday life. The media educates the public about lawyers, judges and criminals and provides its own perspective on what the law is and how it works. It is the media’s ability to ‘teach us about ‘the law’’ that has led legal scholars to critically examine the relationship between the media and the law. The concern is that the media’s use of sensationalized headlines not only misinforms the public by presenting distorted images of legal reality but also undermines the public’s confidence in the legal system. Media distorts legal reality On January 25, 2007, one of the BBC news headlines read, ‘Risk of suffering crime ‘rises’: The risk of becoming a victim of crime in England and Wales is rising for the first time since 1995, figures suggest’. Anyone reading this headline would automatically be under the impression that, according to official figures, crime is on the rise and is a serious issue in England. The problem with this headline and other newspaper reports about crime is that it does not accurately reflect the reality of criminal behaviour. Statistical evidence produced and gathered by the Home Office indicates that contrary to the BBC report, ‘violent crime has fallen or remained stable since 1995’. Furthermore, any rises in crime can be attributed to procedural disparities arising from the number of crimes reported and recorded by the police in any particular year. Although the text of the BBC article makes reference to these findings, noting that the increase in crime is still lower than the total percent recorded in 1995, this information is contained further down in the text of the article. Thus, the large number of readers who merely skim newspaper headlines will be misled into thinking that the general level of crime in England is increasing. This suggests that what the media chooses to focus on can give rise to public misconceptions about the criminal justice system. The question then is if the media has such a large impact on people’s perceptions about the law, then why do they insist on distorting representations of crime? People generally use their spare time to engage in activities that are both relaxing and fun and that help them unwind from the stresses of everyday life. During these leisurely moments, people generally watch television, listen to the radio, surf the internet, or read the newspaper. In this way, the media is often viewed as a pastime, as both a source of entertainment and a means by which one is able to distract oneself from the complexities of life. As McQuail states, ‘The media are often sought out precisely as an alternative to and an escape from reality’. What people seem to forget during their leisurely pursuits is that the media is still a business, whose primary goal is to sell the product of entertainment and information to its consumers. The media is subject to various market pressures and as such its principle objective is to generate profits by using a variety of techniques to attract consumers. Since the media’s principle objective is to sell its product, the media is not focused on representing a true pattern of what is going on in the world. As was seen with the BBC news headline, the media use various marketing tools such as sensationalized headlines to attract its audience. Events are only reported in the media if they resonate with the public and attract viewers. As is noted by McQuail, â€Å"The simple fact that the mass media are generally oriented to the interest of their audiences as ‘consumers’ of information and entertainment can easily account for most of the evidence of reality distortion†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. A clear example of media distortion is the fact that the press only concentrates on a small number of criminal offences which include serious crimes such as murder and sexual assault or celebrity crimes. As is noted by Thornton, ‘The dramatic potential of criminal litigation is overwhelmingly preferred, in which everything is biased and distorted for dramatic effect. Within the crime show genre itself, violent crimes are disproportionately over represented’. Although these types of cases matter, they often leave the viewer with misconceptions regarding the general level of crime. The recent British Crime Survey indicates that in 2006/2007 the total number of domestic burglary crimes reported by the police was 292.3 thousand compared to the 19.2 thousand reports of crime that constitute serious violence against the person such as homicide or serious wounding. Although the threat of being a victim of burglary is higher than that of homicide, the media tend to focus its reports on violent crimes because the seriousness of these types of offences triggers an emotional response in the viewer thereby increasing media productivity and profits. This type of slanted reporting leads the public to grossly overestimate the amount of serious violent crimes, in relation to all other crimes. As Berlins notes in his lecture, ‘I suppose what I’m saying is that the media, in its totality, does probably irreversibly convey a distorted view of the state of crime and punishment, that therefore in turn, the public, which takes much of its information as well as its attitudes from the media, holds misguided views on the subject’. Thus, while the media only reports that which will give rise to public emotion, the public, who view the media as a primary source of legal information, uses these reports to formulate their own views about the criminal justice system. The danger is that this type of reporting will erode the public’s confidence in the legal system. As Garapon notes, ‘by placing us under the jurisdiction of the emotions, the media are in fact distancing us from the jurisdiction of the law’. Public confidence in the legal system and the judiciary is an important issue. A lack of confidence in state institutions, and in particular the court system, may lead to a form of vigilante justice. For instance, when Sarah Payne, an eight-year old girl, was sexually assaulted and murdered, the News of the World’s tabloid made a plea for the public endorsement of a law that would allow the public access to a sex offender registry. After the tabloid ran this report, vigilante groups began attacking the homes of families they mistakenly believed were pedophiles. Thus, if the public, through media portrayals, is under the impression that violent crime is on the rise or that the courts and police are not doing enough to keep criminals out of society, then they may attempt to take justice into their own hands. A regular pattern across all research in this area suggests that the majority of the public does not have confidence in the courts particularly in relation to sentencing. Mike Hough and Julian Roberts conducted a study on the sentencing trends in Britain and found that ‘judgesreceived significantly more negative evaluations than any othergroup of criminal justice professionals. The public systematicallyunder-estimate the severity of sentencing patterns, and thisis significantly related to attitudes to sentencers’. This lack of confidence appears to emanate from a significant lack of knowledge about how the system works and the levels of sentencing. Since public opinion about the legal system is influenced by media reports about crime, it would follow that the public’s ignorance about the judiciary and sentencing is substantially based on media representations which are largely inaccurate. However, not all media portrayals of the law are entirely unfounded or inaccurate. As Berlins notes, ‘I don’t want to give the impression that most people get most of their information and opinions from bad fiction on the telly. After all, television also gives us some very good, informative, sober documentaries’. However, Berlins goes on to state that while there are accurately depicted representations of crime and justice in the media, viewers tend to not be interested in these shows and they are usually ‘withdrawn because of their unpopularity’. The Media distorts the law regardless if they represent the facts or fictions The issue then is whether the media is incapable of producing legal narratives that are based on facts and not fiction. Recently, the L.A. Times, a predominant American newspaper, released the story of Mychal Bell’s guilty plea in the ‘Jena Six’ case. In the ‘Jena Six’ case, six black teenagers, including Mychal Bell, were accused of assaulting Justin Baker, a white teenager, at their highschool in Jena, Louisiana. The media claimed that the assault resulted from a racially-motivated incident at the highschool, where three white students hung nooses from a tree that black students were allegedly prohibited from sitting under. Mychal Bell was the only member of the ‘Jena Six’ group who was charged with attempted murder. Bell’s charges were subsequently reduced and after pleading guilty to a second-degree battery charge he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The public viewed Bell’s prosecution as being ‘excessive and racially discriminatory’ particularly in comparison to the way white offenders were treated in similar offences. The L.A. Times’ coverage of Bell’s guilty plea sensationalized the issue of racism while at the same time omitting relevant facts relating to Bell’s sentence. Although the L.A. Times story appears to set out the true facts of the story in relation to Bell’s sentence, they overlook the fact that Bell had a previous criminal record. Previous convictions on an offenders record is considered an aggravating factor that the court will take into account when determining an appropriate sentence. Thus, as one commentator notes, the L.A. Times, in addressing the issue of whether the sentence was excessive and racially-motivated, should have noted that information concerning Bell’s previous convictions was a factor in the sentencing decision: This is a story about whether a criminal prosecution of young black males for a violent crime was too harsh. Any responsible story addressing that topic would fully describe the perpetrators’ criminal histories especially histories of similar behavior. This information is absolutely vital to assessing whether his treatment at the hands of law enforcement was unnecessarily harsh and by not mentioning his priors, the paper implies to most rational readers that he has no criminal history at all. Assuming the aim of the L.A. Times report was simply to inform readers of recent developments in the ‘Jena Six’ case, this example demonstrates that by focusing on certain facts, at the exclusion of others, the media is able to create a fictional reality which substantiates its own hasty judgments. A local reporter in Jena, Louisiana, commented on the media’s coverage of ‘Jena Six’ and highlighted several myths reported by the media noting: ‘The media got most of the basics wrong. In fact, I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts, and journalists abdicated their solemn duty to investigate every claim because they were seduced by a powerfully appealing but false narrative of racial injustice’. Among the number of facts the media neglected to report was that evidence given by both witnesses and defendants showed that the noose incident, which took place three months prior to the assault of Justin Baker, was not only a prank against a group of white not black students, but was also unrelated to the attack. Thus, the media, by picking which facts to report and by drawing unsubstantiated correlations between various facts, have presented a distorted picture of this case. Although, the facts presented by the media in the Jena Six case are in and of themselves true, the manner in which they are presented leads to a blurring of the line between fact and fiction. It is for these reasons that the media is generally charged with presenting a ‘flawed and distorted version of the law’. As Richard Nobles and David Schiff note, ‘the media misreads law for its own purposes. This misreading has the capacity to generate what, within the media itself, are described as ‘crises of confidence in the administration of justice’. Distinguishing between fact and fiction has become a difficult task for media consumers. Fictional events are becoming more realistic through various television programs that dramatize the law and the judicial system such as Ally McBeal and People’s Court (UK). These television shows impose a conceptual ‘reality’ that viewers can identify with. How then is it possible for a viewer of these types of programmes to be able to distinguish between fact and fiction when the real object of these shows is to provide neither? According to J. Street, the distinction between fact and fiction is not one that can be discerned by simply watching these shows but is rather a skill that must be learned. The idea that the line between fact and fiction is becoming more and more difficult to discern is not something that is recent or that has emerged with the introduction of reality TV. The media has always used various tools to impose a certain amount of ‘fictionalization’ on ‘real’ issues. In addition to using sensationalized headlines and twisting facts by playing on words, the media also uses metaphors as ‘an expression of categories of reality’. Metaphors are used in media crime reporting in order to present complex legal issues in a clear and straightforward manner that makes them more ‘real’ and easy for an audience to relate to. Metaphors such as ‘justice is blind’, ‘war on terror’, ‘cold-blooded murderer’, ‘lawyers are leeches’ and ‘if it doesn’t fit you must acquit’ are used by the media to represent a particular angle on a legal story by relating that perspective to human experience. For example, the metaphor ‘lawyers are leeches’ will impress upon anyone who has had a negative experience with a lawyer or who has had to pay an excessive amount for legal representation. The media is able, through the use of these metaphors to paint a certain picture for the viewer that they are able to connect with because the ‘values and emotions’ attached to these metaphors resonate with the everyday. As Brown notes, ‘What gives such metaphors their resonance is not actually their ‘distortion’ of reality; it is their proximity to experience’. Metaphors, however, can also distort representations of the truth in crime reporting. For example, the metaphor ‘justice is blind’ is used to signify the fact that the judiciary is an impartial and independent body whose job is to apply the law equally and fairly to all persons regardless of class, race or gender. However, what is lost in this metaphor is that justice is not always adversarial and can be achieved through alternative methods to dispute resolution such as mediation and negotiation. Nevertheless, even if the media generates a fictional story, by using metaphors ‘taken from the real world’ the media is able to connect with the public. As a result, metaphors do not necessarily have to be accurate in order for the media to be able to unite with the public through common experience. Another way the media is able to connect with the public in disseminating information about the law is by turning ‘readers or viewers into judges, providing them with all the material necessary for them to make the judgments themselves’. The facts, legal issues and judgments surrounding court-room type shows are introduced to the viewer as the media sees it and as such, there is no room for mediation, argument or debate. The media trial is presented in a story-like fashion like any good novelist, the media tailors the sequence of events and uses characters, imagery, and symbolism to guide its viewers into reaching a pre-determined judgment. By setting the stage and employing various theatrical tools, the media falsely leads its viewers into believing that the outcome of the media trial corresponds with their own opinions about the law and justice. Although the media is able to provide instantaneous justice, by compressing the complexities of a legal proceeding into a 30 minute clip, the media ignores the fact that ‘a trial is an extremely complex and sophisticated device’ and that just and fair decisions are reached only through careful consideration of all the facts, evidence and testimony. Thus, media trials have the ability to undermine the role of the judiciary and the public’s faith in the legal system, by impressing upon its viewers the belief that justice is easily ascertained without deliberation. Garapon elaborates on this point stating, ‘The trial is able to control the way in which the facts are presented, proved and interpreted. On the television, however, a ‘construction of reality’ is implicit and thus directly experienced and thus escapes both examination and discussion’. Hence, as Garapon further notes in ‘preferring seduction to reasoned argument’, the media are able to display a version of the truth ‘at the expense of truth itself’. Although the media’s main role is to entertain, the media is viewed by the public as a major distributor of legal information. Since the media uses various dramatic techniques to relate information regarding the law to its viewers, the public is generally unaware that the media simply has no regard for whether or not the information they are relaying is true or accurate. It is in this way that the distinction between fact and fiction becomes harder for the public to discern. The public adopts the media’s conception of legal reality and as a result views the law in a negative light and loses confidence in the criminal justice system. This is not to suggest that all media content is based on false assumptions or inaccurate facts, but more often then not accounts of the law are misapprehensions of the truth. Is there a valid reason for concern over distorted media portrayals of the law? All research in respect of the effect media has on popular conceptions of the law suggests that media portrayals of the law, whether they are based on fact or fiction, present a distorted version of legal reality. As noted earlier, the media’s power to distort the law and present fictions as legal truths causes anxiety in the legal community. Again, the concern is that media misrepresentations about the law may destroy the public’s faith in the legal system. The administration of justice and the independence of the judiciary are important values that safeguard the fundamental rights of every individual in society. Without these principles, justice, fairness and equality would cease to exist and society would revert back to a state of war where everyone fends for themselves. The media, as the voice of public opinion, ought to be troubled by the role they play and the influence they have in undermining the public’s confidence in the legal system. This is particularly so when examining the media’s power over the public from an effects-based approach. The effects model suggests that media users are like sponges in that they simply absorb media content without any reflection or analysis. This is disconcerting given that some researchers have suggested that information from the media and other sources are absorbed into the mind and filed into ‘bins’ and that when making ‘heuristic judgments’, people extract the information from these bins and ‘often fail to consider that the information extracted could be from fictitious sources’. Based on this approach, individuals who have not learned to decipher between fact and fiction, are in danger of formulating erroneous beliefs about the law that are based on stereotypes, half-truths and clichà ©s. On the other hand, it can be argued that because viewers and readers are generally ‘media-savvy’ they are cognizant of the media’s power to mislead and as such do not rely on media generated content about the law when making value judgments about the legal system. As Lieve Gies notes, ‘Most individuals are sufficiently ‘media-savvy’ to be aware that newspapers and television cannot always be regarded as the most reliable or authoritative sources of knowledge. People are capable of detecting the media’s deceptions and distortions, which means that they are not prepared to put all their eggs in the media’s basket’. Thus, instead of ‘simply absorbing the televised message like a sponge’, viewers and readers are able to ‘decode’ media communications and attach entirely new and different meanings to the media text. The idea that media users are capable of scrutinizing media content and are actively engaged in the construction of their own reality is based on the active audience approach to understanding media effects on the law. According to the active audience approach, media users are not merely cultural ‘dopes’ who submit to the media’s power without reflection and examination. A concern raised by advocates of the active audience approach is that media effects studies overlook the fact that audiences are able to maintain their own independence and views when engaging the media. Instead, research in this area generally starts from the presumption that ‘the media is to blame’. As is noted by David Gauntlett, ‘The problem with much media effects research, however, is that researchers have jumped straight to the second stage investigating the media and its possible ‘effects’ without even bothering with the first one, namely checking whether any notable suspects have in fact been affected’. Stuart Hall’s analysis of the media further suggests that any content received by viewers and readers through various media forms is hollow and meaningless until the viewer or reader ‘deciphers the text and assigns meaning to it’. Hall’s reception analysis model suggests that readers and viewers consciously refuse to give into media influences and instead attach their own set of values to the information being conveyed through media texts. However, as Gies points out, ‘The potential blind spot in reception analysis is that it may still end up giving the media too much preponderance and ignore other influential sources of knowledge’. Nevertheless, the thrust of the argument in both the active audience approach and the reception analysis model is that the media’s powers to shape one’s understanding of the law will vary depending on the meaning that one attaches to media messages which is dependent on one’s cultural perspective one’s class, race and gender. As is noted by Gies, ‘In constructionist analyses of media culture, it is the socio-cultural background of people, and not the media products they consume, which is seen as a more reliable predictor of how they construct social meaning’. For instance, in Canada, the majority of the images presented on the television depict a Western conception of reality. Since Canada is an ethically and culturally diverse country there are many citizens who have differing cultural perspectives and identities. It is therefore dif

Contrasting Macbeths Two Meetings With The Witches :: essays research papers

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth there are two instances in which Macbeth comes into contact with the three witches. These two instances are located in Act 1 Scene 3 and in Act 4 Scene 1. In both scenes Macbeth is informed about his future. However, these two scenes are greatly different from each other in many ways. When Macbeth first meets the witches in Act 1 Scene 3 he doubts that the witches are â€Å"of this earth† and doubts that they are capable of basic abilities such as speech, evidenced by the question, †Speak, if you can, what are you?† In the second confrontation with the witches, Macbeth believes that the witches are real and thinks them to almost be superior. He shows this by attributing the witches with awesome powers when he says to the witches, †Though you untie the winds and let them fight against the churches†, meaning that he believes the witches are capable of manipulation of these natural phenomenon. In addition, he asks Lennox if he had seen the witches leave, showing his belief that the witches are, in fact, real entities that exist in his world. In addition, when Macbeth first meets the witches, he does not believe the prophecies given to him by the witches. This is best said as, â€Å"and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor†. This exemplifies Macbeth’s disbelief in the prophecies that he is to become the Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. In the second meeting, however, Macbeth devoutly believes in the predictions of the witches, as the first set has come true. This is evident as Macbeth seeks the witches’ prophecies and also says, â€Å"I conjure you, by that which you profess, howe’er you come to know it, answer me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , showing that he believes the witches regardless of how they know the future. The predictions themselves have great differences. In the first meeting, the witches tell Macbeth three things that will be his rise to power. The three prophecies that forecast Macbeth’s rise are, â€Å"Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!†, â€Å" Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!† , â€Å"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king here after!† In the second meeting with the witches, however, Macbeth receives three predictions that will lead to his downfall and ultimately his demise. These three prophecies are shown to Macbeth, rather than told to him.

Sociology vs. Cultural Anthropology Essay -- Sociology Essays

The research methods in sociology and anthropology are similar yet follow a specific set of guidelines for each. Each field approaches research in a similar fashion but the methodology and intentions can differ. The differences reflect the distinct differences that are present in sociology and anthropology. The way that an anthropologist approaches a problem and attempts to solve it is different than a sociologist because of the discerning basis of their knowledge. Some of the research methods require a researcher to be up close and personal with subjects while in other methods the subject don’t even realize they are being observed. From these research methods, sociologists and anthropologists draw conclusions from their observations. Sociological research methods include experiments and social surveys. Experiments are carefully designed investigations in which the variables being studied are controlled and the researcher obtains results through precise observation and measurement (Tischler, 2007). The researcher then studies those measurements to determine the impact of the variables. Experiments are designed to simulate real-life under controlled circumstances to the absolute best of the researcher’s ability. Advantages to conducting an expirement are that variables can be isolated and controlled and are the perfect setting for testing cause -and -effect relationships. However, most things that sociologists study can not be studied in a â€Å"lab†. There are 3 different types of experiments; Laboratory, natural and field experiments. In a ‘lab’ setting the subjects are in a contained setting. Natural experiments come from actual occurrences and this creates a sort of living and bre athing laboratory. Natural disasters provid... ...r, 2007). Many of the theories and concepts between sociology and cultural overlap because on a very basic level it is people being studied and their behaviors in the past and present. Using the methods of research, researchers can make predictions about society in the future. Works Cited Research Methods. (n.d.). Eastern Oregon University - Home. Retrieved January 3, 2011, from http://www2.eou.edu/~kdahl/methdef.html Sociological Research Methods. (n.d.). Sociological Research Methods. Retrieved January 3, 2011, from www.fdbond.com/Sociology Sociological Research Methods : SparkCharts. (n.d.). SparkNotes: SparkCharts. Retrieved January 4, 2011, from http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/gensci/sociology/section12.php Tischler, H. L. (2007). The Sociological Perspective. Introduction to sociology (9th ed., pp. 9-10). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Hummingbirds :: Biology Animals Birds

Hummingbirds are stunning creatures, but their future can be bright only if they have plenty of flowers for food and trees for shelter. Unfortunately, human population grows too fast for the hummingbirds' habitats. Once a person knows more about these charming animals, they will find the forests a richer place to protect. Hummingbirds are the smallest and most brilliantly colored birds. Their aerial maneuvers fascinate all. Hummingbirds are promiscuous animals, and families generally consist of a single mother and two baby chicks. It all starts during mating season, when a male tries to attract a female. He may hover in front of her showing off his gorgeous wings, tail, beak and plumage. If she isn?t interested she just flies away. If he wins her affection, they will sleep together one night. In the morning they?ll fly away in separate directions and probably never meet again. Males obviously take no part in raising the young. Two white pea-sized eggs are generally laid, several days apart. The hummingbird mother works very hard to care for her young. The two chicks are born naked, blind, and smaller than bumblebees, but they grow quickly. By the time they are three to four days old, their eyes open, and the mother continues feeding them. The duration of nesting period is fourteen to thirty-one days depending on the food available and the strengths of the chicks and the mother. When they are ready for fledging, the chicks may be 4.5 grams while their exhausted mother is down to 2.5 grams after the feat of raising her young. After a month or so, the hummingbirds leave their nest and master flying quickly and easily. They are continued to be fed because they end up wasting a lot of time mistaking hats, signs, and other bright objects for flowers. The average life span of a hummer is probably three to five years. The record has been twelve years. There are about three-hundred and twenty different species, and the Bee Hummingbird is the smallest. 8 cm is not only half of the length of my pen, but also the length of the largest hummingbird, the Giant Hummingbird. The beak and tail tend to make up half of their small length. Most hummingbirds have ten tail feathers. These tails come in 2 a variety of shapes, and depending on the way the sunlight hits it, these tail feathers may flash red, gold, purple, or black.

Narendra Damodardas Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Essay

Narendra Damodardas Modi ([nÉ™reË ndÃŒ ªrÉ™ dÃŒ ªÃ‰â€˜Ã‹ moË dÃŒ ªÃ‰â„¢rÉ™dÃŒ ªÃ‰â€˜Ã‹ s moË dÃŒ ªiË ] ( listen), born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also served as Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001–14. He represents Varanasi as its Member of Parliament (MP). Modi was a key strategist for the BJP in the successful 1995 and 1998 Gujarat state election campaigns. He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001 and served longer by far in that position than anyone else to date. Modi was a major campaign figure in the 2009 general election, which the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance lost to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). He led the BJP in the 2014 general election, which resulted in an outright majority for the BJP in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament), the first time that any party had done so since 1984. Modi is a Hindu Nationalist and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).[2][3] He is a controversial figure both within India as well as internationally[4][5][6][7] as his administration has been criticised for the incidents surrounding the 2002 Gujarat riots.[7][8] Modi has been praised for his economic policies, which are credited with creating an environment for a high rate of economic growth in Gujarat.[9] However, his administration has also been criticised for failing to make a significant positive impact upon the human development of the state.[10] Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a family of grocers belonging to the backward Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of erstwhile Bombay State (present-day Gujarat), India.[11][12][13][14][15] He was the third of four children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife, Heeraben.[16] He helped his father sell tea at Vadnagar railway station. As a child and as a teenager, he ran a tea stall with his brother near a bus terminus.[17][18] In 1967, he completed his schooling in Vadnagar, where a teacher described him as being an average student, but a keen debater who had an interest in theatre.[17][19] That interest has influenced how he now projects himself in politics.[20] At the age of eight, Modi came in contact with RSS and he began attending its local shakhas where he came in contact with Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who is known as his political guru and mentor. Inamdar inducted Modi as a balswayamsevak, a junior cadet in RSS. During his morning exercise session at the keri pitha shakha of RSS, he  also came in contact with Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, leaders of the Jan Sangh who later founded the BJP’s Gujarat state unit in 1980.[21][22][23][24][25][26] Modi’s parents arranged his marriage as a child, in keeping with the traditions of the Ghanchi caste. He was engaged at the age of 13 to Jashodaben Chimanlal and the couple were married by the time he was 18. They spent very little time together and were soon estranged because Modi decided to pursue an itinerant life.[17][27] However as per Modi’s biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, the marriage was never consummated.[28] Having remained silent on his marital status, during declarations related to candidature during four state elections since 2002 and having claimed that his status as a single person meant that he had no reason to be corrupt, Modi acknowledged Jashodaben as his legal spouse when filling in his nomination form for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.[29][30] As per Modi in Kishore Makwana’s Common Man Narendra Modi, published in 2014, after leaving home at 17, he went to Ramakrishna Mission ashram in Rajkot and then to the Belur Math near Kolkata. Then he went to Guwahati and later joined another ashram set up by Swami Vivekananda in Almora, in the Himalayan foothills. Two years after, he returned to Vadnagar and after a brief halt at his house, Modi left again for Ahmedabad, where he lived and worked in a tea stall run by his uncle where he again came in contact with Lakshmanrao Inamdar who was then based at Hedgewar Bhavan, the RSS headquarters in the city.[21][22][23] He then worked in the staff canteen of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation until he became a full–time pracharak (propagandist) of the RSS in 1970.[25] In 1978, Modi graduated with an extramural degree through Distance Education in political science from Delhi University.[22][28] In 1983, while remaining as a pracharak in the RSS, completed his Master’s degree in political science from Gujarat University.[19][31] He still continues to visit Belur Math occasionally[32][33] and talks about his reverence for the Ramakrishna Mission.

The epic date

Coming up with an stale date idea is never hard. simply look around you, see what everyone else is doing, and written bet that While some people screw the traditional standby of dinner and a movie, others atomic number 18 looking for ways to modify up their love life and detect themselves searching for fun date ideas to light upon that. An evermore unique and slightly much active turn uping, creative dates tend to be more raise, interactive and, most importantly, furthermost from the norm.Some of the most fun date ideas are the ones that challenge us to do things that we exponent otherwise not do. Not for the washy of heart, fun, exciting dates are more allow for those who know each other reasonably well rather than a geminate on a first or blind date. Try doing something extreme that not only creates a great sentence but brings you closer to the one youre with. For open-air(prenominal) excitement, go white water rafting, bungee cord Jumping or, for the super br ave, skydiving. Looking for a more relaxed yet equally electrifying date idea?Rent a hot air balloon at sunset and adore drink and snacks as you glide through the clouds and admire the take up below. Just keep in intelligence that the balloons tend to drift with the wind and are actually a lot maller than they seem, so if youre afraid of heights, hot air balloons whitethorn not be for you. While exciting date ideas tend to be the out of ordinary, fun dates dont necessarily need to be extreme and there are galvanic pile of creative dates that can be taken with a few less risks.No matter where you live, theres bound to be a wine vineyard or brewing manufactory nearby. Grab your partner and take a daylight trip to the site to enjoy their wine or beer selections and take a tour of the grounds. Most vineyards and breweries have restaurants on the premises, so make it a day trip and enjoy a relaxing dinner together in the til nowing. For those who arent sooner used to drinking t hroughout the day, you may want to arrange tor transportation to and trom your goal since the wine or beer samples are probably to be abundant.If drinking isnt your thing, head to the nearby city to take in a playing area or comedy show. uncertain of which youd like? Analyze your preference by basing it on your favorite movies. If its drama or romance you like, the theater is your best bet. From musicals to plays, theres always something going on at a performance center and, even if its not Broadway, its likely that a local theater group is performing each eekend.If you prefer watching films that make you laugh, such as Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler or even the slapstick of the Three Stooges, a comedy show could make for a really fun night. If you dont live near all large comedy clubs, go online or search through the local newspaper publisher to learn about any comedians tour local bars or nightclubs. No matter what your energy level, theres always a fun date idea for every one. Whether you prefer roaming through the great outdoors or staying in, a creative date makes for a fun date and the more unique, the better.

Metaphysical Poets Essay

The term metaphysical poets was coined by the poet and critic Samuel derriereson to describe a slow d have conclave of British lyric poets of the 17th deoxycytidine monophosphate, whose plow was consultationized by the inventive affair of conceits, and by theory ab erupt topics much(prenominal) as love or religion. These poets were not formally affiliated around of them did not even know or read to each one some other (Wikipedia). Their work is a blend of sense and intellectual ingenuity, characterized by conceit or body fluidthat is, by the somemagazines violent yoking together of unambiguously unconnected ideas and things so that the referee is startled out of his complacency and forced to think through the stock of the numbers. metaphysical poetry is less concerned with expressing odor than with analyzing it, with the poet exploring the recesses of his consciousness.The boldness of the literary devices applyespecially obliquity, irony, and problemis often rei nforced by a prominent directness of langu bestride and by rhythms derived from that of living speech. compli handsts for Metaphysical poetry never stood higher than in the 1930s and 40s, largely because of T.S. Eliots influential evidence The Metaphysical Poets (1921), a re cyclorama of Herbert J.C. Griersons anthology Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the Seventeenth Century. In this essay Eliot argued that the works of these men embody a fusion of thought and stamp that later poets were unable to achieve because of a dissociation of sensibility, which resulted in works that were both intellectual or emotional further not both at once. In their give birth time, however, the epithet metaphysical was used pejoratively in 1630 the Scottish poet William Drummond of Hawthornden objected to those of his contemporaries who act to abstract poetry to metaphysical ideas and scholastic quiddities.At the end of the carbon, John Dryden censured Donne for affecting the metaphysics and fo r perplexing the minds of the median(a) sex with nice speculations of philosophy when he should take away their hearts . . . with the softnesses of love. Samuel Johnson, in referring to the learning that their poetry exhibits, overly dubbed them the metaphysical poets, and the term has continued in use ever since. Eliots adoption of the label as a term of praise is arguably a better guide to his personal aspirations about his own poetry than to the Metaphysical poets themselves his use of metaphysical underestimates these poets debt to melodious and socially engaged verse. Nonetheless, the term is useful for identifying the often-intellectual character of their writing (Encyclopedia Britannica). Without doubt Samuel Johnsons choice of the enounce metaphysical to describe the followers of Donne was directly submitd by these earlier usages (the Cleveland passage is quoted in Johnsons vocabulary of 1755 to illustrate the definition of Metaphysicks).The category of poetry that i ndulged in metaphysics was a live one for later seventeenth-century poets, that for them metaphysics was a word used to mark the signify at which strongly argued verse bordered on self-parody. There is more value than this, however, in the group name. Even in the earlier seventeenth century members of the core group of metaphysical poets were connected by a number of social, familial, and literary ties. Izaak Walton relates that Donne and George Herbert enjoyed a colossal and dear consortship, made up by such a Sympathy of inclinations, that they coveted and joyed to be in each others Company (Walton, 578). Donne addressed rimes to Herberts mother, Magdalen, and preached her funeral sermon, as considerably as writing a poem to Herberts brother, Edward, Lord Herbert. Herbert of Cherbury in bias read both Donnes poetry and that of his own brother with care, and was a friend of Thomas Carew and Aurelian Townshend. heat content Wotton was the addressee of epistles in both verse and prose from his close friend John Donne, and at one point mean to write a biography of Donne.Henry power (whose father ordained John Donne) was in perfunctory contact with Donne at St Pauls Cathedral, where the older poet was dean while exponent was chief residentiary. Donne bequeathed to King a portrait of himself dressed in his winding-sheet. not surprisingly Kings verse is taken up(p) by that of his friend, from whom he received manuscripts, as well as books and themes for sermons. Later in the century on that point were other close groupings of poets, who, although not linked by direct personal familiarity with Donne and Herbert, were bound to each other by ties of family, friendship, and literary consanguinity. Thomas Stanley was a first cousin of Richard Lovelace and the nephew of William Hammond, and became a friend of John Hall, one of the most underrated of the minor metaphysical poets.Cowley was a friend and finally elegist of Richard Crashaw. Pockets of metap hysicality also survived in several institutions it cannot be an diagonal that Henry King, Abraham Cowley, Thomas Randolph, William Cartwright, and John Dryden all attended Westminster School. moreover by the later seventeenth century the bonds of friendship and affinity that had linked Donne and Herbert were in the main replaced by looser ties of literary indebtedness. Declaratory utterances to imagined or inattentive addressees who are summoned into being by the force of the speaker units eloquence are common among poems by members of these ne iirks, as are works that explore the residuum and imbalance among the demands of the body and the spirit. Direct attempts to persuade, either through comparisons or through arguments that self-consciously display their logical elisions, are also among the most evident legacies left by Donne to his poetical heirs.No champion one of these elements constitutes a metaphysical trend, and it would also be wrong to suppose that all of the m must be present in a given poem for it to be regarded as belonging to the tradition. It is also ludicrous to believe that a poet who sometimes wrote poems in a metaphysical manner was always and in any poem a metaphysical. The metaphysical style was various. It also changed in response to historical events. Donnes Poems and Herberts The Temple were both posthumously printed in 1633. Those publications immediately extended the literary communities of their authors through time and space, and the item that both volumes were posthumous had a significant feat on the kind of influence they exerted. Donne and Herbert rapidly became models for imitation, further they could also be regarded as ideal representatives of an age that had passed.Imitation of them could therefore become an act not just of nostalgia, but of politically or theologically motivated nostalgiaas occurs most notably and heavy-handedly in the high Anglican pastiches of Herbert embarrassd in The tabernacle by Ch ristopher Harvey, which was regularly bound with The Temple afterwards 1640. In the political and ecclesiastical upheavals of the 1640s the metaphysical style moved on. Imitating Herbert in recessicular could signal a desire to resist the depredations suffered by the English church during the civil war. Richard Crashaws Steps to the Temple (1646) explicitly links itself by its title to Herberts volume. The editions of 1646 and 1648 include On Mr. G. Herberts Booke, which declares Divinest love lyes in this booke. Henry Vaughans preface to the second volume of Silex scintillans (1655) ascribes to Herberts influence his conversion from writing secular poems, and he mark the debt by adopting the titles of several poems by Herbert for his own works.By the second part of Silex these allusions to Herbert carried a political charge, intimating Vaughans resistant attitude to the forcible ejection of carefully minded ministers from churches in his native Wales by commissioners playactin g under the parliamentary ordinance for the propagation of the gospel. The dawdling replacement of networks of closely connected individuals by relationships betwixt dead authors and their readers is perhaps a central close for the emergence of metaphysics (in the pejorative sense) in later seventeenth-century verse. The two later poets stigmatized by Johnson as metaphysical, Cleveland and Cowley, knew Donne unaccompanied as a voice in a book. Efforts to reanimate that voice often show signs of strain. But the move from personal to textual connection between members of the group did not always have unsuitable consequences.Andrew Marvell, who ever since John Aubreys Brief life has tended to be regarded as an isolated figure in the literary landscape, has perhaps the most distinctive poetic voice of any member of the group. By describing untaught figures with wounded or sullied innocence who argue confoundedly about their own fate and the unattainability of their own desires, Ma rvell modify the metaphysical style into an idiom appropriate for a period of political division and national crisis.He was not entirely disconnected from its other practitioners he was at Trinity College, Cambridge, at the same time as Abraham Cowley, and he wrote a commemorative poem for Henry, Lord Hastings, in Lacrymae musarum (1649), a volume that include poems by Dryden as well as John Hall. He and Hall were both among those who composed dedicatory poems for Richard Lovelaces Lucasta (1648). Like Cleveland, Marvell owed his reputation in the later part of his career largely to his political and satirical poems, but his posthumously published Miscellaneous Poems (1681) shows that a reader of earlier metaphysical verse who actively responded to his changing times could transform the idiom of his predecessors (Oxford Dictionary of topic Biography).Works cited Colin Burrow, Metaphysical poets (act. c.1600c.1690), Oxford Dictionaryof National Biography, online edn, Oxford Univer sity Press, Feb 2009 http//www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/95605, accessed 5 Aug 2012 Encyclopedia Britannicawww.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/377915/Metaphysical-poet Wikipediahttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysical_poets