King Lear Essays (740 words) - King Lear, Arts, Literature

King Lear In a writing of Shakespeare's play "King Lear", the main character is King Lear who starts off as a respected and powerful king. As the story progresses the king loses his power because of his own stupidity and blindness. The tragedy of this play is shown through the daughters of the king, the fool, and finally when Lear's sanity is tested. At the beginning of the play, King Lear is powerful and harsh. He decides he doesn't want to be king anymore, and so he asks his daughters, Reagan, Goneril, and Cordelia to tell him how much they love him. He does this so he may give them a dowry to be married with. First, Goneril begins to tell her father how much she adores him and would never disrespect him, this is a lie. Next, is the daughter Reagan, she does the same as her sister and lies to the king saying that she loves him with all of her heart. Finally, Cordelia tells her father that she could not tell him how much she loves him, because she had no words. The king was very upset with Cordelia and because of his madness towards Cordelia thinking that she did not love him as much as her other sisters, he divided the land in two and gave Reagan and Goneril each half. Cordelia on the other hand received nothing as her dowry and in turn no none would marry her except the King of France. Giving the land to the two daughters was the first of Lear's mistakes, for the daughters did not love him as much as Cordelia did, but they wished to have his riches. When Goneril and Reagan are in power they try to make Lear appear to be incompetent. They refer to him as "The Idle Old Man" in front of everyone and start to make even Lear think less of himself. Although the two sisters do this they also realize that Lear still holds a great deal of power in their areas, so they decided something must be done about it. The "loving" daughters command Lear to let go fifty of his one hundred servicemen, saying that they will not pay for it and that it is unnecessary. Lear then starts to worry that if Goneril isn't happy then she in turn will make him unhappy and he agrees to let them go. Next, the fool is introduced. Shakespeare does this to show the deterioration of Lear that has taken place since the beginning of the play. The Fool is his name, however, he is a wise man. He is a tutor to Lear and tries to slow him down so that he will not lose his mind. However, in the process the fool makes subtle hints to Lear that he has made some bad decisions. These hints do not help Lear, they just provoke more thinking about what he might have done to himself by giving away his kingdom. After Lear leaves Gonerils castle, the former king travels to his other daughter, Reagan's castle. When he arrives there he discovers that Reagan and her husband have left. Little does he know that they had found out form Goneril that he was coming and they didn't want for him to stay at their castle. He later travels to Gloucester castle and learns there that Reagan and Goneril are not fighting as they led him to believe. This makes Lear very upset, and Reagan orders him to be kicked out of the castle. Outside of the castle there is a very bad thunder storm, this makes Lear believe that the elements have joined forces with his daughters to try and defeat him. He begins to yell at the storm in a fit a of anger. From this scene it is quite apparent that Lear had nearly lost his mind. In conclusion, the reader is shown how Lear went from being a respected and powerful king to a regular man who seems to have lost all of his family. The two people that he trusted most were the same people, that in the end were the cause of his down fall. And the people he did not trust were the ones

Moments - Definition of Statistics Terms

Moments - Definition of Statistics Terms Moments in mathematical statistics involve a basic calculation.  These calculations can be used to find a probability distributions mean, variance, and skewness. Suppose that we have a set of data with a total of n discrete points. One important calculation, which is actually several numbers, is called the sth moment. The sth moment of the data set with values x1, x2, x3, ... , xn is given by the formula: (x1s x2s x3s ... xns)/n Using this formula requires us to be careful with our order of operations. We need to do the exponents first, add, then divide this sum by n the total number of data values. A Note on the Term Moment The term moment has been taken from physics. In physics, the moment of a system of point masses is calculated with a formula identical to that above, and this formula is used in finding the center of mass of the points. In statistics, the values are no longer masses, but as we will see, moments in statistics still measure something relative to the center of the values.​ First Moment For the first moment, we set s 1. The formula for the first moment is thus: (x1x2 x3 ... xn)/n This is identical to the formula for the sample mean. The first moment of the values 1, 3, 6, 10 is (1 3 6 10) / 4 20/4 5. Second Moment For the second moment we set s 2. The formula for the second moment is: (x12 x22 x32 ... xn2)/n The second moment of the values 1, 3, 6, 10 is (12 32 62 102) / 4 (1 9 36 100)/4 146/4 36.5. Third Moment For the third moment we set s 3. The formula for the third moment is: (x13 x23 x33 ... xn3)/n The third moment of the values 1, 3, 6, 10 is (13 33 63 103) / 4 (1 27 216 1000)/4 1244/4 311. Higher moments can be calculated in a similar way. Just replace s in the above formula with the number denoting the desired moment. Moments About the Mean A related idea is that of the sth moment about the mean. In this calculation we perform the following steps: First, calculate the mean of the values.Next, subtract this mean from each value.Then raise each of these differences to the sth power.Now add the numbers from step #3 together.Finally, divide this sum by the number of values we started with. The formula for the sth moment about the mean m of the values values x1, x2, x3, ..., xn is given by: ms ((x1 - m)s (x2 - m)s (x3 - m)s ... (xn - m)s)/n First Moment About the Mean The first moment about the mean is always equal to zero, no matter what the data set is that we are working with. This can be seen in the following: m1 ((x1 - m) (x2 - m) (x3 - m) ... (xn - m))/n ((x1 x2 x3 ... xn) - nm)/n m - m 0. Second Moment About the Mean The second moment about the mean is obtained from the above formula by settings 2: m2 ((x1 - m)2 (x2 - m)2 (x3 - m)2 ... (xn - m)2)/n This formula is equivalent to that for the sample variance. For example, consider the set 1, 3, 6, 10. We have already calculated the mean of this set to be 5. Subtract this from each of the data values to obtain differences of: 1 – 5 -43 – 5 -26 – 5 110 – 5 5 We square each of these values and add them together: (-4)2 (-2)2 12 52 16 4 1 25 46. Finally divide this number by the number of data points: 46/4 11.5 Applications of Moments As mentioned above, the first moment is the mean and the second moment about the mean is the sample variance. Karl Pearson introduced the use of the third moment about the mean in calculating skewness and the fourth moment about the mean in the calculation of kurtosis.

Islamic style arches in generalife Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Islamic style arches in generalife - Essay Example The Generalife of Granada in Spain are the only example of Muslim architecture which gives us an rough idea of how these gardens initially, where in the Muslim spirit, in all improvised and its sensually instinctive construction, was finally carried away. The root of Islamic gardens for instance, dates back most likely to the Middle East, particularly to Persia (Curl & Curl, 2005 p., 35). The Generalife in Spain is composed of a series of huge gardens, where each corner holds a novelty or a pleasant surprise for the eyes, with less of obtrusive buildings. Many times this is considered as a true reflection of Muslim occupancy at this era of history. Uniqueness of architecture of any nation or region is more often than not related to the culture of the people and their history of civilization and Spain is not an exception. Spain as a nation has a history of invaders particularly Muslims. By the 11th century, Islamic rulers had taken over Spain, and this lasted for a period of over 800 years. Likewise, the power of unifying Christian forces made Spain lose its authority over its northern territories. The evidence is clearly reflected in the arches of Generalife and of the period that largely demonstrates a fusion of Islamic cultural traditions. The most beautiful and striking unique features in the Generalife gardens are the plants, the water with its continuous interpl ay with its sounds and light. Generalife can be considered to be one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens. The Muslims grasped the use and design of the arch compared to any other civilisation. The unique attributes of the Islamic designs are observed all over Generalife. The gardens and were constructed when Muhammad III (1302–1309) was in power and redecorated was done shortly after by Abu I-Walid Ismail (1313–1324). Observing the Generalife keenly, one can conclude that perhaps no culture was more conversant with the design and application use of the arch more than the Muslims.

Suicide bombing and why it is a common terrorist act Essay

Suicide bombing and why it is a common terrorist act - Essay Example Early 1990's, Palestinians is trying to resist against Israeli occupation in West Bank and Gaza where young Palestinian men, and women to strap themselves with explosives making their way to Israeli Jewish areas whether crowded with soldiers or civilians and blowing themselves up killing and injuring dozens of people around them including police, men, women and children (Asad, pars 11 ). An act resulting from humiliation by the army, and/or seeking revenge for the killing or injury of a relative or a friend, desperation and frustration from the oppressive Israeli occupation, unemployment and confinement, imprisonment and torture, hopelessness, racism, discrimination, as well as other reasons , (Ateek, pars 10 ). These young people were not born "terrorists". But they are born a in the image and likeness of God. They were born human beings with love of life and freedom. But all of them, with no exception, were born under the Israeli military occupation. The only Jews they knew were Is raeli soldiers carrying guns and dehumanizing Palestinians that made them terrorist. The only thing that Palestinians wants is to end Israeli occupation and the establishment of their own state along side the state of Israel ( Ateek, pars 13 ).On the other hand, Israeli continue its oppressive and punitive measures against them killing people to assassinate Palestinian leaders and even destroying homes. Thus suicide bombings came to be perceived as a more potent tool of resistance that can reciprocate the pain and hurt they were experiencing. And as they were driven deeper into despair, their desire to hit back in any way possible grew in intensity. From a Palestinian perspective, therefore, the real sequence of the cycle of resistance has been this: Israeli occupation, Palestinian resistance, greater Israeli oppressive measures, and greater attempts on the Palestinian side to increase the resistance, and the vicious circle goes on. Their main objective and desire to take away as ma ny Israeli lives as possible using their own bodies as tanks and shells to destroy and devastate Israeli areas. If the oppressors have the heart (or should one say lose the heart) to kill women and children and to make the life of Palestinians miserable, the suicide bombers are not going to spare Israeli lives that in Islam, they called suicide bombers as "shuhada "a martyrs and its prize in depending their homeland is a paradise rather than a human military medal ( Ateek pars 22). A Muslim Perspective . There are three main reasons why suicide bombings become a more powerful phenomenon according to Hamas leader, Khaled Mash'al, namely, the religious, the nationalist or patriotic, and the humanitarian. Humanitarian suicide

Discuss the accuracy of Winston Churchill's description of the United Essay

Discuss the accuracy of Winston Churchill's description of the United States - Essay Example Some people may label certain actions as right when it comes to a particular situation, whereas others will call it wrong. Most of the time, it is something in between the two. The United States frequently takes action, and it is very hard to determine whether that action was right or wrong. I think that for the most part, only history and hindsight will be able to reveal the reality. One example that I think illustrates this particular idea is the War in Iraq. The United States took very swift action against Iraq after the September 11th attacks. I think that this action might be considered right by some as the U.S. couldn’t not respond to the terrorist attacks. Our country would have been viewed as weak and ineffectual if we hadn’t reacted. However, some people might think it was wrong that we attacked Iraq specifically because many of the terrorists on the hijacked planes were from Saudi Arabia, so some didn’t understand why we went to war with Iraq. At the time, it was thought that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction and was funding the terrorist organizations. However, American has learned since then that this wasn†™t the case. I think this particular circumstance illuminates how muddled the concepts of right and wrong are in today’s society. I think that for the most part Churchill’s statement is largely inaccurate when looking at America’s decisions from an American perspective. While some countries may think that America does not do the right thing, I think that we try to do the right thing for our own country, which makes sense in the larger sense of

Differences between historical and scientific explanations

Differences between historical and scientific explanations Topic: -What are the similarities and differences between historical and scientific explanations? An explanation is one which is ‘rooted or firmly embedded in psychology and in reality. An explanation is one which should make something vivid to the person inquiring. A young child asking why the sky is blue or why water freezes cannot be satisfied with an answer couched in scientific polysyllables that he does not understand. To be effective, an explanation must be one which is easy to understand. On the other hand, a proper explanation must rest on truth that is, it must refer to reality. A good explanation is one which fulfils or satisfies the particular need of the inquirer and answers only that. Let us take for example a priest enquiring about a robbery seeking an explanation from the robber. If he asks: ‘Why did you rob the bank?, and the robber replied, ‘Because thats where the money is. This explanation, for the priests purposes, as per the priests question is not an explanation fitting to him. The explanation is supposed to be directed in order to fulfill the moral reasons behind the theft. However, the explanation of the robber is one which will satisfy any practical man: Any Scientific person. This explanation of the robbers is a scientific explanation looking more towards the practical side of the argument rather than the moral or ethical side of the argument. There is more than one way of explaining, including Common Sense, the Scientific, the Social Scientific and the Historical modes of explanation. This essay will be focusing more on the scientific and historical modes of explanation. Science is a way of acquiring human knowledge. The three essential aims of science are prediction, control and explanation. However, the greatest of these is scientific explanation. Scientific explanations are nothing but tentative proposals. They are offered in hope of capturing the best outlook on the matter. Scientific explanations however, are subject to evaluation as well as modification. They are valid deductive arguments whose conclusion is the event to be explained. The Scientific mode of explanation is more properly named the nomological-deductive type. It is also known as the DN account. This means that the explanation is deduced from law-like statements (from the Greeknomos= a law). For example, there is the law, or universal hypothesis, that whenever the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon there is an eclipse of the Moon. Thus any particular eclipse may be explained as an instance of that general law. The general rule that provides the explanation is strengthened if it can be shown to be consistent with a more fundamental law. Historical explanation is the explanation of certain events which have taken place in reality. A historical explanation, in general terms is the explanation of a circumstance in the context of history.   Historical explanations give causes of outcomes in particular cases. They are empirical, but can be altered. These explanations are limited to the past. A useful method for historical explanation is analysis in terms of power. This means assessing the power, or ability to affect the outcome in question, of focal actors and entities, determining their use of that power, and, perhaps, accounting for that use. The first of these depends, in part, methodologically on deductive theory: the power of one entity depends on what others can be expected to do, and theory can help assess that. The second is mostly historical accounting, but may need theory to determine what goals are feasible for actors. In the third, theory such as rational choice may be especially useful when the power-holdi ng actor is an aggregate of individuals. There are a few ways of knowing through which these explanations, namely scientific and historical explanations can be deciphered: Perception, Reason and emotion. One example in order o decipher and differentiate both types of explanation is the mystery of one of the most puzzling monuments of the world, the â€Å"Stonehenge† present in Great Britain. There have been many theories, posed by many, historians and scientists alike, all from different walks of life. These theories, as expected, happen to be as contrasting to each other as possible. However, all these theories are based on nothing but, ones perception, reason and emotion.   A persons perception of different events depends on the state in which his mind is at that particular point of time. Not only this, but also depends on the way the person is brought up in his life, the place, etc. A person who is brought up with one particular set of values will have a different perception from one who has been brought up elsewhere with another set of values. There have been various theories relating the existence of this monument to God and aliens. Some theories even spoke about wizards! However, there have been more relevant theories which justify its existence as an astronomical laboratory, a burial ground, etc. In this case, a person, who has been brought up with different religious and mythological values inculcated with him, would obviously believe in the existence of God and attempt to justify the existence of the Stonehenge as that of a temple of God. However, an atheist would not do so since he does not believe in the existence of God and wouldnt think twice before rejecting the idea of the existence of God. This would be the cause of a reason or an emotion. A religious person may be one of the many who can be termed as a person capable of meting out a historical explanation. However, this person may be able to provide a historical explanation for the existence of this monument, only if he is able one of the three methods of historical explanation. Historians may believe in its existence by using the observations made from the archeological evidence which has been discovered. It is emotion which brings out the fear in their heart and it is this emotion which affects ones perception. When one is brought up with religious values inculcated in him, the priests or the higher order of the temple he goes to would probably build inside his heart, the element of fear of the almighty God. It is this fear itself which would lead a person like this to believe that monuments like the Stonehenge may be temples of the Almighty God built by God himself in order to conduct various rituals; a thought, which would most likely, immediately be cast away by an atheist or a person who is highly practical. However, this historical explanation provided here would not fulfill the question as intended by the inquirer. Again, it depends on the reason and the perception of the inquirer, whether he would believe in the existence of God or not? Now, let us focus on the view of the scientific explanation about the purpose of the Stonehenge. A scientist, archeologist or a historian may clearly believe that this monument had been of some major significance to the people of that society. There are many theories which have been put forth by these scientists, archeologists and so on. However, no one of these theories has been proved true. Again, what one perceives to be true would depend on the emotion, and how one is brought up. A person with scientific beliefs may be considered as a practical person who, unlike a religious man would not readily believe in the fact that this was built by the Almighty God and was meant to serve Him. He would not hesitate to believe that it may have been a holy place of rituals, but would surely cast away the idea that it was a temple built by the Gods, for the Gods. However, he would be the one to put forth the theories that these were built for their astronomical significance of looking at the m oon by observing the arrangements of the ruins, which are factual; an astronomical observatory in order to mark significant events on the prehistoric calendar. This is one explanation which would both suit the purpose of the question put forth and would fulfill the inquirers desire. This, here is a scientific explanation. Hence, we have seen as to how different scientific and historical explanations are in this case. Also, we have seen similarities as to how both the types of explanations are based on observations and as to how both the explanations serve to answer the question which has been put forward. Now, let us take another example, this time, about the occurrences of daily life. Belief in superstitions is one which has been highly debated upon by people who believe in them and the people who think that it is solely a coincidence. People say, â€Å"When a black cat crosses your path, it means that you will face bad luck in the day.† If, by any chance, this happens to be true at one instance, it means that it has occurred in reality, in the context of history. Hence, one can provide a historical explanation justifying the omen of bad luck only because the cat crossed the path. This explanation was based on facts which were purely based on facts occurring in reality. A historical explanation is supposed to be empirical, it may be altered. However, the other form of explanation to be discussed is scientific explanation. A scientific explanation is one which is always open to change, unlike historical explanations and the theory or the explanation has to stand the test of tim e. A man providing a scientific explanation would only say that the person who faced ill-luck was only a result of the person believing in the superstition and being too self-conscious about the incident. If he were to talk about a person who does not believe in superstitions, all he would say is that the incident was a matter of pure coincidence. The examples above, about both the existence of an epic and the amount of truth in a superstition would only serve the purpose of showing us the differences between historical and scientific explanations. The key similarities that exist between both the explanations are that both the explanations are based purely on facts only that a historical explanation is based in the context of history and scientific explanation is based on theory, and the results of the thesis. Another similarity is that both the types of explanations serve as an explanation to the same question though in different contexts. The primary differences are that while historical explanation is based on facts occurring in reality, a scientific explanation is one which is based on research and accumulated facts which are obtained as results. Hence, we have seen and examined the differences between historical and scientific explanation with the use of appropriate examples.  

Comparison of Dulce et Decorum Est and Charge of the Light Brigade Essa

Comparison of Dulce et Decorum Est and Charge of the Light Brigade Compare and contrast the two poems Dulce et Decorum Est (Owen) with Charge of the Light Brigade (Tennyson), paying particular attention to the writers’ attitude to war. The attitudes of poets towards war have always been expressed vigorously in their poetry, each poet either condoning or condemning war, and mitigating their attitudes in whatever way possible. I aim to explore the change in the portrayal of war before and during the twentieth century, and also the structures and devices poets use to convey their views persuasively, and justify them. For this job I have chosen to write about â€Å"Charge of the Light Brigade† written by the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† by the poet Wilfred Owen. These two poems describe war, and scenes from war, with varying levels of intensity and reality and also from different viewpoints. Written during the Crimean War Tennyson’s â€Å"Charge of the Light Brigade† mirrors the sentiments expressed in the Battle of Balaclava. This event took place in 1854 and is still remembered as one of the most famous triumphs in British history. The truth is that Lord Raglan suicidally led his troops " Into the valley of Death ", where they were massacred. Lord Tennyson was the poet Laureate at the time of the Crimean war, but did not witness any fighting and was not involved in it but his clever and effective use of literary devices in his poem ensure that this military fiasco was remembered as a glorious victory. Tennyson puts across a message to remember, respect and honour the soldiers for what they have given up their lives to do for their country. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† however, was writt... ... suggesting that the writers of glorious war poems have even lied to the young people, and sent them to the front line to die in their millions, in awful conditions and distressing situations. Having explored both poems, I feel that the one which brings about the biggest response from me is â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est†. This is because of the striking graphic imagery he uses, the way he describes the effects of the war on him, and also because of the way he directs the poem at the reader personally, using phrases such as â€Å"you† and â€Å"my friend†. In my opinion, â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† does not have the impact and the realism to convey the opinions contained in it effectively and forcefully. I feel is a more imaginative, outlook on war than Wilfred Owen’s graphic poem. The thing I did like about Tennyson’s poem was the excitement and passion and pace.

Good vs Evil Essay

At what point in time does a child know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil? At what time does that interpretation change from its wrong to not share your toys with your baby brother to it is wrong to kill someone or steal? Are people born inherently good or evil? Is there any middle ground? When man first enters the world as an innocent child, he has no knowledge of what is good or bad. Therefore he cannot purposely commit a good or bad deed. At what age does that change—or does it? A child is born malleable, malleable through elements in his or her environment—upbringing, physical environment, peer pressure, economics, tragedy, stress, etc; the most important elements being upbringing, personal conviction, and peer-pressure. In more than one way, a child’s environment shapes their world, his perspective on life, his morals and standards; his definition of what is right and what is wrong. Knowing the power of love as well as having a sense of belonging is an environment that will give a child a solid foundation to turn back to; whereas children who have been neglected and abandoned, will turn to alternative pathways – usually not very good ones. Most recently, yesterday’s Record Searchlight tells a story of Daniel Scruggs, who grew up in a cluttered, dirty home where he committed suicide when he was just twelve years old. Critics say that Daniel was depressed and neglected. Unfortunately, Daniel saw only one way out of his misery†¦and that was to take his life. Even literature illustrates this truth – In the novel Animal Farm, a brood of pups are taken away from their mother and are raised by a greedy, power-hungry pig that uses them to maintain power and to reinforce his presence. The pups had no choice in the matter and grew up to be violent, blood-thirsty dogs. Upbringing is so important, it leaves life-long impressions. So many things affect a child’s perspective on what is right and what is wrong, and it is up to parents and guardians to instill in them those qualities which will enable them make good choices. As important as environment is, individuals have to make their own decisions. Peer pressure plays an integral role in our decision making. Once again literature supports this point. â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business,† says Macbeth and Lady Macbeth replies, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ Screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail. † Lady Macbeth was willing to do it for Macbeth if he wouldn’t do it himself, and if left to make that choice on his own, Macbeth wouldn’t have had the gall to commit the crime. Lady Macbeth persuaded Macbeth to kill Duncan so that he could gain the crown and she could be queen. All throughout our lives we will be tempted in one way or another and the outcome is simply determined by standards, our own morals, and our own strength. Though many succumb to peer pressure, most of us have moral standards that help us to draw our boundaries. According to a class survey, two students said that they are tempted to commit illegal acts rather than go against their own morals because â€Å"if no one catches you, is it illegal? † and the thrill of â€Å"how much can I get away with? † Individuals must know their own limitations before they can discern what is right and what is wrong; therefore it is very important that from an early age, children learn to make, not a good decision, but the best decision. All men are not born good and all men are not born evil. I believe that men are born innocent yet with a human nature that if given the chance will do evil. If enough good influences can overpower one’s human nature and if the individual is disciplined from an early age – learning to obey boundaries and laws than they will know what is right and what is wrong. If they’ve been taught to respect those in authority, old and young, rich or poor; they will know what is right and what is wrong. We live our lives without knowing the impacts that they have on others around us†¦may we live accordingly. Works Cited Class Survey, 22 Jan. 2004 Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. 1605. 23 Jan 2004 (1. 7. 21) Baker, Russell, C. M Woodhouse, and George Orwell. Animal Farm. N. p. : Plume , 1996. 5-298. â€Å"System Failure. † Record Searchlight 22 Jan. 2004, sec. D: D-2-D-2.

Research objectives Essays

Research objectives Essays Research objectives Essay Research objectives Essay Research objectives involve finding out about the market type and what is going on in the market. Somerset house wants to find out what age group visit the galleries and what attracts them, this will enable Somerset house to find out which age segments dont visit and which age groups to aim for in the future and how to attract them to visit the galleries.Somerset house has to find out whether its customers are satisfied with the service they receive at Somerset house and if not why? And how can it be improved to meet every bodies needs. Customers can be unsatisfied for a number of reasons for expel poor service or customer service, if this is the problem Somerset house can improve its customer service by training its staff. Solving the problems may lead to more customers.I want to find out what age groups visit Somerset house and how I can increase, encourage and attract other age groups to Somerset house, currently Somerset house has a larger number of over 5 5+s customers who are mostly intersected in the galleries. I want to attract younger generations to Somerset house but not the young kids who will turn the area into a play area, running about and making noise which may conflict with the older generation and cause them to leave. I will have to develop a strategy that will attract both generations to the same area to use the same or different services. These include the ice rink, music events and fire works displays, which might attract different generations and increase the publics awareness of Somerset house and increase the chance of them visiting the galleries.Another objectives is to increase repeat customers and improve the publics image about Somerset house at the moment there is little repeat customer, Somerset house can improve repeat customer by publishing a programme brochure for the different seasons of the year which lists the events that will take place. This will be put on Somersets houses web site and it will also be sent to Somerset houses customers and schools by post. This will enable the customers to plan for the events in advance. There will also be a copy of the brochure at Somerset house for who have visited for the first time.In order to find out and solve the above I will have to carry out research. I will use the internet to find out information about Somerset houses competitors, what products they have to offer and what prices they charge. This information will show me why these museums are successful or what they are doing wrong and I will use it to develop a strategy that will help Somerset house to gain a lager market share and a competitive advantage over its competitors.I will also need to find out how other museums are marketing there products, the impact of there marketing strategy on Somerset houses sales and what age groups they attract for this will need to complete a competition survey. I intend to visit the natural history museum and the national gallery, one Britains larg est art galleries as I have identified them as Somerset houses main competitors. I hope to speak to the marketing manager to find out which strategy they use and how they market there products. I will also need to find out information such as products on offer, prices charged and which products attracts the most people.I will designed a questionnaire to take with me on my visits to the natural history museum and the National gallery this questionnaire will have the same questions as the one I took to Somerset house it will include questions on gender, age, social class or life style visitors have, how they book, travel and how they had about the exhibitions. I will base my marketing strategy on the response I get from the public on my visits to the museums. The questionnaire will be presented to 20 different people at random.Research methodBefore visiting Somerset house I designed a questionnaire which was filled in by different people at Somerset house. The results are presented be low.1.This graph show that the most people to visit Somerset house are the above 55+ with 16 out of the 20 people the questionnaire was presented to. It also shows that there are know 26-55 year olds visiting the museum.2.The pie chart above shows that 40% of the people questioned were male and 60% were female, it also shows that there 20%more females who visit Somerset house than males. This is a major point to take into consideration when making my marketing strategy for Somerset house.3.The graph shows that 55% of the people questioned were retired, 25 in professional jobs and 20% in manual and other WC; this will have a great influence on my pricing.4.The graph show that all the people questioned came from outside London. Somerset houses existing strategy targets people in London, from my results you can that there strategy is not working they need to expand the area of concentration to include outer London residents. This is a point I will take in mind when marketing the produc ts.5.The results from the graph show that all the people travelled by train to Somerset house. Somerset house is easy accessible by the London underground.6.From the graph above you can see that 50% of the people had about Somerset house through the radio, 30 through the internet, 20% through word of mouth and news papers.7.The pie chart show that of the 20 people questioned almost 3 thirds of them had used the cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½/ restaurant.7.The graph shows that all the people who used the restaurants were all happy with the service and pricing by Somerset house.8.The pie chart shows that majority of the people I questioned had access to the internet and 40% dont have access to the internet. This is useful if the products are going to be marketed on the internet.10.This graph shows us that 75% of the people I questioned visited the souvenir shop and actually buy some thing from there.11.From the chart you can see that 60% of the people questioned booked tickets from ticket master, 30 % from the internet and only 10% on the Phone.12.Of the 20 people questioned 14 of them were going to spend the whole day at Somerset house, 2 till lunch and 4 for a few hours.13.This graph shows that 80% of the people had not visited the Ice rink this may be due to the fact that 55% of the people I questioned were retired and there were only 15% were teenagers.14.The graph shows us that 50% of the people questioned thought it was excellent, 20% V.good, 10% good and only 20% poor. This can be put right through asking the customers to fill in a short question about there day.15.From the results on the graph you can see half of the people enjoyed the Hermitage and the ice rink and Gilbert collection with both 20% each. The Courtauld gallery with only 10% marketing may have been responsible for this. The Ice rink got less people because only 15% of the people questioned were teenagers, most likely customers of the ice rink.16.This question was designed to fin out whether Somerset house has many competitors and from the results you can see that 80% of people had visited other galleries in London.Existing marketsFrom my research I found that Somerset house attracts a large number of the retired audience to the galleries this was from my primary research. The secondary research I got from Somerset house showed that there were large numbers of Gold and Silver enthusiasts attracted to Somerset house as the Gilbert collection and shop is the only place in the area that sales expensive and unique silvers. The existing markets also include overseas cultural tourists and UK tourists. School groups and higher education who visit Somerset house mostly for educational purposes. There is a small number of younger audiences attracted to Somerset house only for the pop music events which take place in the courtyard, these are only seasonal and are mostly not to visit the galleries and not to come back. The restaurants existing market includes day trippers in higher education an d income categories. The ice rink has an existing market of mostly teenagers but these dont visit the galleries and because the ice rink lasts for only six weeks it does not reach its expected sales.Future/possible marketsThere markets Somerset house has not explored, Somerset house targets residents of greater London but from my primary research you can see that most of the people questioned were actually from out side greater London. To reach this audience Somerset house needs to increase its marketing campaign to include the people who come from outside London.There is a possibility of a future market of parents and there younger kids to visit the galleries, this could be attracted in a number of ways for example if Somerset house opened up a new system, that the kids are looked after while the parents visit Somerset house. This would attract many parents therefore leading to an increase in the sales and number of people visiting Somerset house. It would also improve the publics image of summerset house being a place of births, deaths and marriages.The other market I would like to explore is the market of the younger generations; this would be good customers if they were pleased with the service they receive, as they are most likely to tell there friend about what they have seen or how good and spectacular the event was and then may be come back to visit again. Which h would form repeat customers and increase sale.CompetitionSomerset house does not only compete with museum but also other restaurants and gold and silver shops in inner London. Somerset house does not only compete locally but it also has national and international competition because of the single market in Europe, this causes even a greater threat to Somerset house as museums can enter the UK museum freely. Its many competitors in the museum industry include the natural history museum, national gallery, science museum, British museum imperial war museum and madam Tussauds etc. Most of these m useums due to recent government legation offer free entrance to the public at all times yet they have a competitive advantage over Somerset house. But still to most of the upper class people it looks like they are getting a better service because they are paying.There is also a problem as Somerset house has to prove to the public that the service the public will receive from Somerset house is worth the money, Somerset house could do this through product differentiation, adding valve to the service they provide.The other competitors are the restaurants located in London; these compete aggressively with Somerset house the location of Somerset house gives it a completive advantage.Whole market developmentThe market for museum is changing from the statics in my secondary research you can see that at in the early 1990s not many people used to visit museum but recently in the late 1990s there has been an increase in the museum market. As people get more money they tend to spend it on luxu rary thing like days out to museums. Also some people visit museum because of curiosity about there history or the history of other things. Some visit simply because they are interested in some kind arts and culture. But in the last few months we have seen a decrease in the number of people visiting the museum, this is because the economy of the UK has been fall since September the 11 and people were saving instead of spending.As we approached the new millennium and new technology changed we saw museum take a new step in using new technologies like the use of the internet and the use of new interactive service like touch screens available in the museums. Somerset house also has an active interactive link to St Petersburg museum in Russia which enables you to see whats going on St Petersburg.Other museum like the natural history museum have computer programs that allow you to go back in time and see what the earth looked like and what creatures roomed the earth.Ever since the electio n of the new London mayor; London has been put on the map, with plans for better transport and more attraction in London. The mayors plans for London have many influences on trade and business in London. For example the mayors plans to freeze tube fares in real terms for fours year and to freeze bus fares for four years and urgently investigate the feasibility of introducing a 70p flat rate bus fare throughout London. This attracts more tourists and because the fares will be low you will find that more people visit London.ConclusionAfter all the research I have under taken I have decided on a strategy that will attract more people of all generations to Somerset house, because the ice rink is opened for only six weeks I thought this is not enough time. So I have decided to keep it open for the all of the winter season and this time the rink will be covered with a water proof over it, which means we will not have to close the ice rink when its raining as Somerset has done in the led w hich led to a huge decrease in there sales as people we take on the ice because it was raining. Also I would like the rink to be even bigger this year instead of 700 square metres, I will have it 900 square this will accommodate more people. I will have events like the ice hockey finals from local clubs take place on the rink this is for publicity reasons, these events will be held in the evenings so that they dont conflict with other thing and people at Somerset house. I also plan to open the rink for longer hours on weekend, this is because the age group am interested in are in education during the week days. I will invite the press round on the grand opening and on the special which will help improve the image of Somerset house. My strategy also includes changing price but I will not increase the price instead I going to increase the age at which teenagers can get in a child from 12 years to 16 years this will hopeful encourage more teenagers to come and visit. Prices will be adu lts à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8 and under 16 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6. This will be my winter strategy.In the summer season I intend to promote the fountains and a music festival which will last for a week, on my publicity I will also include the galleries and other products that Somerset house provides so that customer can know about what is on offer apart from the event they are going to. As well as attracting younger generation and increase repeat customer I will make sure that my marketing strategy meets there demands and expectations and does not conflict with other things going on at Somerset house.Evaluation of research validityThe methods I used primary research, this involved gathering fresh information about the market and secondary research this involves using data that is already available to you. For my marketing strategy I was allowed to change the product, price and promotion but I couldnt change the place as Somerset house is a history building. So I went on and carried out the appropriate r esearch. I constructed a questionnaire that I questioned 20 people.The questionnaire had closed questions; I collected quantities data that I later turned into statistics, which I presentated in pie charts and bar graphs. The problem with closed questionnaire is that people dont get to give there own opinion about the product instead they are forced into answering questions with out giving there own judgment. This met I may have missed out on ideals that I might have used in my strategy. I only questioned 20 people that I conceded to be a representative sample of London however, there are many more people in London that I sampled this may cause problems. Because my results are recent this makes them valid as I conduct the research personally and asked questions that were relevant to the topic issue.The secondary research I have is valid but not for this particular time as most of it is 2-3 years old fore example the trend in museum market information and tourists information, this c ould have charged over the last year. This will affect my marketing strategies. It would have been of use if I looked into reference books in the libraries but due to the time difficulty I was not able to.Overall am satisfied with the research methods that I used to collect the information and do think to a certain extent my research is valid and will be of use when am drawing up my strategy which will later attract more younger generations and increase repeat customer.In London there are vast numbers of competitors and its impossible to research all of them as this will cost a lot of money and time. I might have over looked some competitors. I have not researched national and international and other leisure activities that appeal to kids and younger adults like bowling alleys and cinemas.Secondary researchTourism is one of the drivers of the British economy, supporting around 1.7 million jobs. It is also one of the fastest growing industries with one in five of all new jobs created in the tourist industry.The last years 25.7 million overseas visitors came to Britain, spending more than 12 billion. The British tourist Authority estimates that by the year 2003, overseas visitors will spend around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½18 billion a year in the UK, 44% more that the past year.The British tourist Authority works with the national tourist boards for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to build the value of tourism in Britain, generating addition tourism revenue throughout the year in Britain.The graph above shows most tourists are overseas visitors to the UK, since internal trade was improved the UK receives loads of tourists and the remove of trade barriers and the introduction of a single currency in Europe has add to the number of tourists visiting the UK. You can also see from the graph that there are a total of 148 million tourists who are interested in day trips; this may include trips to museums which work as an advantage for Somerset house. I will have to g ear my strategy to attract a large proportion of these tourists.This graph shows major tourism receipts the USA is the major tourism receipt with the UK at the bottom.Tourism in the UK economyEconomic indicator à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ billionTourism sharedomestic 8383.6%Consumers spending 5235.7%All export 3514.5%Services exports 6026.5%The most relevant data from this table is the service exports, services that the UK provides to tourists. It shows that the service usage by tourists accounts for 26.5% of the U.K. economy and this figure is increasing yearly.

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buy custom Business Plan of Atrium Gallery essay Atrium Gallery will upon its operations commencement sell a wide variety of luxurious and fancy dresses. This will provide the Russian women with dresses which are capable of suiting any occasion of choice. This business plan is to open a womens boutique shop which is supposed to deal with dresses for women who are above the age of 18 years. The boutique will be in rented premises in a shopping mall in a retail strip mall at 6253 Petrovka Street in Moscow city. The floor area of the business premise consists of 1,600 square feet and the shop will be in a very convenient location in the center of the Moscow city where the premises will be surrounded by restaurants, hotels, and several banks which shows that the business will be located where the customers are - in a very busy street. What will make us very unique and different from our close competitors is that our business will be very much committed to providing all the luxurious dresses for women who prefer fancy dresses of high qu ality, and they will be available for them in a location which is very convenient. The location of the business is in a very high profile area which is easily accessible from all the parts of Russia. In our business, there will be a total of 7 employees: director, legal front, accounting, marketing department, sales department, sales consultant (4 people) whose age is 20-45. Source of funding will be personal capital. The Atrium gallery will serve all the people from high income levels, middle, and low income levels, provided they are women who are above the age of 18 years and there is no upper limit. It is very expected that a majority of the customers of our business will be high class women with a high income, because all of the dresses that we will be making are be mainly for luxury, meaning that our most target customers will be high income women, since the fabrics we use for the dresses will be very unique and expensive for low income women, but of a very high quality and also very attractive and sophisticated. Buy custom Business Plan of Atrium Gallery essay

Macroeconomics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Macroeconomics - Assignment Example Conversely, a major concern with the growth is whether it is sustainable which brings into focus two important factors. This includes the emerging countries ability to maintain a stable growth, and whether the global economy can sustain the growth evident in emerging countries. It is important to note that while emerging countries can maintain their stable growth, this growth cannot be accommodated by the global economy. As a result of emerging countries still undertaking the process of catching up in terms of growth, these countries still need to engage in a continuous and a challenging structural change. Other changes that emerging countries still need to tackle emerge in the areas of reforms and also institution building (Lachman 65). While emerging countries are better placed to a progressive growth in a global economy impacted negatively by crises in developed countries, the decoupling seems to be incomplete. In essence, a reasonable growth of the world economy still needs the d eveloped countries. This is important in terms of accommodating the increased growth and the prominence of the emerging countries. ... The lack of such a change may result in a trend of a recurrent global economic turmoil without any firmness in stabilizing the world’s economy. The consequence of the crisis would involve emerging countries leading the way by playing a role in a global economy struggling with protracted rehabilitation related to the over-stretched balance sheets in developed countries (Lachman 66). In addition, the increased growth and development in emerging countries means that these countries in the long run may create a strain on the world’s financial system. As time progresses, it is likely that the global supply of capital will not meet its demand in regard to capital, and the intended level related to the investment needs to finance various projects. In the world economy, today, the rates related to household savings have dwindled in developed countries, and the aging population may not reverse such a trend. Conversely, the effort by emerging countries such as China in rebalancin g its economy to improve consumption appears to impact negatively on the global saving (Atale 18). Is austerity an appropriate answer to deal with excessive public debt? Austerity is not an appropriate answer to deal with excessive public debt since it results in numerous consequences for the economy. Austerity, in other quarters is viewed as expansionary by focusing on cutting spending and not increasing tax. Budgets cuts which are aimed in reducing interest rates and stimulating private borrowing and other investments is seen to change expectations regarding future tax burdens, but this is doubtful. In essence, austerity instead of bringing expansion,

Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Methodology - Essay Example Finally, inductive approaches do not always allow researchers to capture the complexity of various social phenomena (Cargan 2007). This is why, when researchers cannot overcome the major limitations of inductive data, they begin their study with a theory, followed by a hypothesis and research (Saunders et al., 2007). In other words, they apply for deductive research approaches. Deductive data is usually derived from the study of earlier experiments, empirical and theoretical literature. In other words, deductive approaches rely on the previous studies and lead to the creation of generalizations and assumptions from earlier formulations (Cargan 2007). The use of deductive data in research is very common. According to Saunders et al (2007), deductive data allows developing conceptual frameworks from theories considered in the literature. These frameworks are then tested using the data (Saunders et al. 2007). Researchers who use deductive data develop new theories, based on the earlier studies in the same field. In deductive approaches, researchers usually begin with the analysis of literature. At times, meta-analysis designs are used to systematize earlier research findings. All these steps are integral to deductive approaches in research. With deductive data, researchers find it easier to make generalizations and develop recommendations for future research. ... Mixed methods research Mixed methods have already become a defining feature of contemporary research. Mixed studies are often valued for their strength and reliability. Basically, mixed methods designs involve the use of both quantitative and qualitative features (Denscombe 2010). The concept of mixed methods can be traced to the end of the 1950s (Creswell 2003). Mixed methods exemplify a logical and promising response to the limitations inherent in all research methods. With the help of mixed methods, researchers can â€Å"neutralize or cancel the biases of other methods† (Creswell 2003, p.15). Triangulation is a popular method of research, which is used to ensure better validity and reliability of the study findings (Creswell 2003). For example, the results obtained from one method can be used to inform another method of research, or one method can be nested within another research strategy to ensure effective analysis of the different levels of data (Creswell 2003). Researc hers who use mixed methods in their studies can choose from three research procedures. First, in sequential mixed method approaches, researchers use the data obtained from one research method to improve the quality of the results obtained from another method (Creswell 2003). The data obtained from one method can also be used to improve the second method used a mixed study design. Second, researchers can also use concurrent procedures, when qualitative and quantitative data are used simultaneously to study one research question (Creswell 2003). Finally, there are also transformative procedures when a particular theoretical framework is used to interpret both quantitative and qualitative study findings (Creswell 2003). The choice of particular procedures and