External Threats That Face Coca Cola Commerce Essay

External Threats That Face Coca Cola Commerce Essay The report provides a detailed analysis of the external environmental threats of coca cola as well as how it monitors its environment to deter all the possible threats that may exist /arise there from, to enable it maintain a competitive position over its key competitors in the persistent shrinking business world with its attendant intense and unbridled competition. This report, in a bid to review of the current monitoring system of coca-cola, will take a problem/solution approach. This approach will help find out threatening environmental factors that affect decision making, and strategy formulation and the actualisation of the strategic intent of the coca-cola, such as economic regulations, tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic change, and government policy changes among others. Books, articles, journals and periodicals were reviewed, internet sources were also visited, to elicit information. The major threat identified were more of environmental, arising majorly from its sludge which was alleged to contain a high level of toxic chemicals, including cadmium and lead, both of which can be harmful to human and plants. The case of coca-cola plant in Perumatti in the southern state of Kerala in India was used as a case study. Amidst these threats, key areas of opportunities for coca-cola were also identified. An epitome of this is its partnership with International Olympic Committee ( IOC) since 1928 and its recent renewal till 2020, covering a 12 -year pact from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Sochi 2014 Olympic. (http://www2.coca-cola.com/ ) Considering the level of uncertainty and changing circumstances in the international business arena, especially in the face of the looming economic down-turn, the report, proffered the following recommendations: The use of environmental impact assessment , both before building a plant and afterwards. development of daily/weekly/monthly reports which will keep it abreast of whats new and significant in the market especially at the street level. the use of scenario planning which will constantly keep the company informed about what is happening in its marketplace as well as the gap between where they are, and where they intend to be. The use of bench marking, to be able to find out the gap between what they are doing and those of their competitors. development of essential competitor information which includes statements on strategy, new product development, marketing initiatives and key appointments and expansion plans and capacity variations. development of spot pattern/ trends that will be able to identify weak signal and thus keep ahead of its competitors. INTRODUCTION Not only is coca cola the worlds largest beverage company, but in 200 nations ( with consumers enjoying an average of 1.6 billion servings a day), sells about 500 sparkling brands, including 4 of the top sellers (coca- cola, diet coke, sprite and fanta), sparkling beverages, juices, and ready to drink teas among others. (http://www2.coca-cola.com/ ) Established: 1886 with its official headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia Company Associates: 92,400 worldwide (as of December 31, 2008) New York Stock Exchange Ticker Symbol: KO Supporting Communities In 2007, The Coca-Cola Company and The Coca-Cola Foundation made charitable Contributions of $99 million to community initiatives worldwide. . (http://www2.coca-cola.com/ ) 2008 Financial Highlights: Our portfolio includes 13 billion dollar brands. Unit case volume grew 5% to 23.7 billion unit cases worldwide. Net operating revenues grew 11% to $31.9 billion. More than 70% of our net operating revenues and more than 75% of our unit case volume were generated outside of North America. (http://www2.coca-cola.com/ ) With reference to SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and Porters five competitive strategy, I am analysing the precarious regulations, tax laws, trade restrictions, tariff, demographic changes ,in the business environment of coca-cola and a review of the current monitoring system of the external environment as well as proffering a recommendation, with regards to what coke could do better, to maintain and its competitive rim over its competitors. THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF COCA-COLA USING SWOT ANALYSIS ITS STRENGHTS At the heart of strategic planning, is environmental scanning ; a process of studying the environment of the organization to pinpoint opportunities and threats(Mathis, R.L, and Jackson,J.H:47). To analyse coca-colas environment, i am going to use SWOT and PESTLE analysis tools as well as the Michael porters five of competitive strategy. This is so because, it is the developments in the macro business environment , relating to political, social, technological, etc that automatically create opportunities or threats and in turn, impact on the strategic development of coca-cola which may either bring success or mar its strategic intent. For coca-cola, matchless opportunities abounds, which cannot be delinked from its strengths in innovation and product line expansion aggressive advertisement and promotions. According to Morrison, J.(2006:130-1) coca- colas strength has been in the carbonated soft drinks market, served by its flagship brand, coke, and promoted by global advertising campaigns. This has helped it build a strong brand recognition and brand loyalty, which is created by sets of positive associations that links the collector to the brand, thus building a relationship of trust, likability and loyalty(Jones, J.P 1999:263).Coca-cola has built around all its brand some personality characteristics(ibid:253) which is not only unique but timeless. Coca-colas brand name is well known throughout 90% of the world today. Also of strength is the multi-local strategy which is in keeping with the companys changing markets. Through this, local managers are enabled to devise their own marketing strategies and choose the products from the cokes portfolio that are best suited to local tastes. Morrison, J.(2006:132) Its implication is that every community of consumers is recognized and carried along, and this goes a long way to make them more loyal to coca-cola amidst other producers of similar product. Another unequalled opportunity that coca -cola has is the long lasting historic bond with International Olympic Committee (IOC: (the organizers of the Games of each Olympiad, and approximately 200 National Olympic Committees around the world)) since 1928 and its recent renewal of this historic bond, through 2020 to cover the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Sochi 2014 Olympic. (http://www2.coca-cola.com/ ) salt lake 2002 www.thecoca-colacompany.com The Coca-Cola Company is proud to be the longest continuous corporate partner of the Olympic Games WEAKNESSES: Amidst coca-colas reputation of innovation, and recent product line expansion, it is riddled with some weakness factors that pose some threats that can be detrimental to the organization if unchecked, such as; lack of continuity of workforce, negative publicity and communication among others. Negative publicity: Cokes flagship product; coca-cola classics is known to contain high levels of sugar and caffeine, contributing. In the recent times, this is causing uproar on the increasing health conscious world. Communication gap: Due to the complex size of the organization, there exists a communication gap between the superiors at the top of the hierarchy and their subordinates at the bottom of the ladder. In effect, conveying ideas about fixing problems that may occur on the street level may be delayed. Continuity of workforce: According to a 5 year employee of Kyle Hughes, Coke has a frustrating high turnover rate of retraining, averaging about 1, 600 sessions per annum. A PESTLE analysis will be done for a more understanding of the external environment of coca-cola. This will specifically look at how other external factors such as political, economic, social, technological, legal as well as environmental affect coca- cola. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF COCA-COLA, USING PESTLE ANALYIS The analysis of coca-cola, using the PESTLE cannot be duly separated because these factors are inter-locked, and as such, a development in the environment, could affect the economic situation and as such call for political decisions to be taken, and vice versa. The political aspect of PESTLE looks at what is happening politically in the environment, the constraints the government has imposed or is likely to impose in future, Morrison, J.(2006:30) This may also include tax laws, trade restrictions, government reforms and tariff. According to a report on Guardian of August 7, 2006, government policy affected coke in Guyarat, Madhya, Pradesh and Rajas in India as the selling of coke was banned in government offices and educational institutions which was estimated to deprive coke of a potential market of 30 million house hold. The above assertion cannot be delinked from the environmental factors in which, it was perceived that the presence of coca-colas plant in perumatti in the southern Indian state of Kerala had brought untold hardship to the host community as it was estimated that coca-cola uses an average of 1 million liters of water for its production on daily basis, thereby bringing about drinking water scarcity in the area. This according to the Guardian report, the waste sludge from the cleaning of its bottles was also seem by local farmers as detrimental to their farm lands as it was perceived to contain high levels of lead and cadmium. And lead according to Paul Brown; an environmental correspondent, in Guardian of 25th July,(2003), is particularly bad for children, affecting their nervous system and cadmium if taken up by plants, is toxic to the kidneys and liver and can cause cancer. In the light of this therefore, the government resolved in public interest, not to renew its license which we ca n see has a political undertone. The economic aspect looks at what is happening within the economy, example, economic growth/decline, interest rates and inflation rates, etc.albeit, there has been an economic recession, coca-cola has been making constant profit as can been in the recent fourth quarter report that was published in some periodicals. Profit- $6.82bn ( £4.36bn) for 2009- a rise of 17% on the previous year Sales increase: 4% on coca-cola, 10% cokes zero brand 55% profit and 5% global sales. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8506495.stm) and Net operating revenue-:5%,$7.51 billion topping analyst forecast of 7.22 billion. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/business/10coke.html) PORTERS FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES Another strategy used by coca-cola to monitor its environment is the use of Michael Portes five theories. Michael Porter (1980) considers the external factors, that can impact upon an organizations competitive positioning, and thus identifies five competitive forces that govern the rule of competition and how the rules prevail in any organisation , both at home and at the global market.A comprehensive understanding the nature of each of these forces gives organisations the necessary insights to facilitate them to create the suitable strategies to be successful in their market. Porter further suggested that the relative strengths of these forces also determines the intensity of competition.These five forces are: Threat of new entrants; threat of substitutes/ replacement products; bargaining power of buyers; bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalries between firms of the same sector. THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS Considering the brand loyalty, economies of scale, access to channels of distribution, etc, which coca-cola has acquired over the years, there is little or no threat for its products from new entrants into the non-alcoholic beverage sector. In the light of this, Coca-cola is place in a good competitive position. THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES/ REPLACEMENT PRODUCTS: Bargaining Power of Suppliers This is very low for coca-cola considering the fact that there are variety of sources from which it can source inputs from. In other words, the supplier chain for its raw materials is reliable, fast, and prices are negotiable. THREAT FROM COMPETITION Coca-cola is a matured and dominant player in the worldwide soft drink industry , with a strong brand loyalty. Albeit, there exist the cola wars, between coke and Pepsi, both of them basically share the entire soft drink market, making use of harsh marketing, advertising and promotion tactics and this often lead to hampering profits between the two soft drink war-lords. HOW DOES COCA-COLA MONITOR ITS EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT? An understanding that coca-cola does not operate in a vacuum has made it to continually scan its environment in order to find out or foresee likely environmental threats and thus develop appropriate responses to them. This has helped it to take advantage of its opportunities, and minimize threats and again, determines how it will achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Certain models and frameworks that can be used for this purpose includes: Scenario planning, customer surveys/ opinion polls, bench marking, among others. Customer Surveys /Opinion polls: This is a strategy coke uses to find out the opinion consumer have about is products or other changes especially as it concerns its activities and those of its competitors. Over the years, coca-cola and Pepsi have been locked in fierce battles, sometimes described as the cola wars Shimp, T.A (2007:43). One sensational battle began in 1975 when the traditional coke was tested against Pepsi.( ibid) The result gotten informed a change in the cokes formula for more sweetness, the result was that the folks who liked old Coke went crazyso crazy that the Coca Cola Company decided to bring it back as Coke Classic. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-3961611.html) Scenario Planning: Scenarios are realistic descriptions of the organisations possible futures that allow the scenario team to set aside its individual and organisational assumptions about how the external environment will operate and explore new ones (Ralston, B.2006:141) Coca-cola is constantly aware of the link between its strategy and the changing future, thus, itself for the ifà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦then probable future. This is exemplified it its mission statement, thus: the world is changing all around us. To continue to thrive as a business over the next ten years and beyond, we must look ahead, understand the trends and forces that will shape our business in the future and move swiftly to prepare for whats to come. We must get ready for tomorrow today. Thats what our 2020 Vision is all about. It creates a long-term destination for our business and provides us with a Roadmap for winning together with our bottler partners (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html) Benchmarking is the comparison of performance in one organisation or part of an organization against that in another, with a view to finding ways of improving performance. (Needle, D.2004:433) This avails the company the opportunity to take corrective measures actions. Recommendation It is recommended that coca- cola should take immediate action to launch and promote environmental impact assessment of locations before citing their plants for operations.coca-cola should also The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.[1]

Musics Effects On The Brain Music Essay

Musics Effects On The Brain Music Essay Music is a world renowned language that all can understand. From Australia to the deepest jungles of Africa, music is associated in peoples everyday lives. Music can be heard anywhere and everywhere: the grocery store, the gym, in the car, at work, at school, on the television, etc. Not only is music applied for entertainment but it can also be used for story telling, learning, religious rituals and medical therapy. Today, it is not uncommon for music to be used as a medicine for Parkinsons, Alzheimers, depression, anxiety, stroke-victim recovery, stress, memory loss, and mental well-being. Musics effect on the brain is a very profound and mysterious topic. It is said that music influences the process of thinking and analyzing, making work more enjoyable and efficient. Studies have shown that music increases the amount of endorphins (a chemical released in the brain to reduce pain and provide a good feeling state) in the brain, initially, jump-starting the bodies healing process. As it distracts the attention from pain, it concurrently generates chemical behaviors that promote healing. Along with physical healing and mental effects, music impacts human emotions. Often, someone will listen to music when they are distraught, happy, need to focus, exercising, etc. Experiments show that music in a major key will cause a person to be happy, while the music in a minor key will bring sadder, depressed emotions. This paper will discuss how the music of major and minor keys differently effect human emotions. Emotions Throughout an average day, humans will experience one emotion after the other: sadness, happiness, frustration, anger, guilt, remorse, etc. But when one is asked the question what is an emotion? most find themselves dumbfounded. The answer to what is an emotion is not an easy one to answer. For centuries great minds have studied to answer this question but have yet to receive a definite answer. There are many reasons for this state of affairs. One reason is that emotions are difficult to define and measure. (Juslin and Sloboda 73). To be able to define emotions, theorists must know where emotions come from and how they are detectable. From a scientific perspective, emotions can be concluded from three types of evidence: self reports, expressive behavior and physiological development (Juslin and Sloboda 74). Self reports are a variety of surveys people will take to measure their emotions. Although this method is a first hand account of emotions, it still includes many problems such as the imperfect relationship between emotions and words that denote emotions, and the problem of choosing which words to include on checklists or scales (Juslin and Sloboda 74). The second type of evidence is expressive behavior which is the study of peoples emotion by their facial expression, vocalizations or body language (Juslin and Sloboda 74). The difficulty with this procedure is that not all emotions are visible by expressive features. The third type of evidence used to decipher emotions is physiological kinds of measurement; this includes measuring heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension and much more. Many theorists have suggested definitions of emotions based off the previous three types of evidence. Based on a review of these definitions they proposed the following consensual definition (Kleinginna Kleinginna 1981, p. 355): Emotion is a complex set on interactions among subjective and objective factors, mediated by neural/hormonal systems, which can (a) give rise to affective experiences such as feelings of arousal, pleasure/displeasure; (b) generate cognitive processes such as perceptually relevant effects, appraisals, labeling processes; (c) activate widespread physiological adjustments to the arousing conditions; and (d) lead to behavior that is often, but not always, expressive, goal-directed and adaptive (Juslin and Sloboda 75). As seen in the previous definition, it is almost impossible to define emotions simplistically or even in one sentence. Tonality Like emotion, tonality is not an easy concept to grasp. For one, it is used in many different senses and areas of music. Also, tonality has been widely discussed amongst theorist as to what it is and its significance in Western music. One simple definition of tonality is a system for interpreting pitches or chords through their relationship to a reference pitch, dubbed the tonic. Once the tonic is established the relationship of this pitch to other pitches can be designated using scale-degree names or numbers (Huron 143). In other words, tonality is the organization of pitch. Referring to Western theorists, there are two types of tonalities: major and minor. The theory and use of major and minor tonality dominated Western culture between 1650 and 1900 (Forney 20). The tonality of a piece of music is determined by the scale used for the foundation of the music (Forney). A scale is a series of tones in ascending or descending order; may present the notes of a key (Forney A20). Because of the combination of intervals between notes in a scale, each scale has a special and unique sound. Major scales promote a feeling of happiness and cheerfulness while minor tones sound sad and dark A composer would not be likely to choose a minor key for a triumphal march, nor a major key for a lament (Forney 21). As stated earlier, the first note of the scale, the tonic, is used as a starting place Affects of Major Tonality on Human Emotions Musics effect on humans has been a hidden phenomenon for thousands of years. The emotional experience one has with music has always been enticing and misunderstood. Still, it is probably true that most people experience music-somehow, somewhere-everyday of their lives, often with an accompanying affective response of some sort (e.g. nostalgic recognition of a favourite song on the radio while driving a car, frustration directed at the music at the shops, joy while listening to an excellent performance at an evening concert, a sad mood created by the soundtrack of a late night movie) (Juslin and Sloboda 3). The goal of this section is to describe how the music from major tonalities influence human emotions. To sum up the affects of major tonality on human emotions is the results of David Hurons, author of Sweet Anticipation, experiment on the feeling evoked from listening to major scale degrees. Huron conducted his experiment by asking ten experienced Western-cultured musicians to describe the emotions they incorporate with different scale degrees from the major key. All ten musicians were given the following instructions: For each of the following scale degrees describe as best you can the distinctive quality or character of that tone. Describe how the tone makes you feel in as much detail as possible. Imagine the tones for the major key only. Please think of pitches rather than chords (Huron 144). The table below is the result of Hurons responses as displayed in his book Sweet Anticipation. Scale Tone Common Descriptors Sample Responses Tonic Stable, pleasure, home, contentment Stable, extremely satisfying, centered, foundational, solid, resolved, strong Raised tonic Strong, upward, bold Edgy, unstable, uncertain, upwardly, mobile, mildly precarious Lowered supertonic Surprise, abruptness, pause Somewhat dark, a sense of almost inevitable further descent, murky, unexpected richness, mild surprise Supertonic Solid, movement, resolve Hanging, dangling, transitory, moderate expectancy of more to come, part of a flow Raised supertonic Longing, unstable Needling, moderately harsh, jarring, unstable, off balance Mediant Bright, love, warmth, beauty Light, lifted, bright, point of many possible departures, yet also strongly restful, peaceful and calm Subdominant descending Akward, tentative, strong sense of being unfinished, Now what? no clear expectation of future, hanging feeling, would be happy to fall by half step Raised subdominant Intentional, motivated Moderately anxious, interrupted flow to dominant, somewhat curious about possibilities, fluidity, transitory Dominant Strong, muscular, balance, possibility, pleasant Strong, towering, height, sense of looking down from a tall building and being comfortable, but knowing youll eventually take to elevator back to the street level Raised dominant Leading, aspiring Leading to something, sense of implication, unfinished, leaning, mildly uncomfortable Submediant Balance, open, lightness Airy and open, temporary suspendedness, neutral, evokes mild curiosity in regard to direction Subtonic Falling, lightness, drifting downward, shifting Heavy, like walking with a limp, unexpected, open new possibilities, sheds a new light on things Leading tone Unstable, pointing, restless Sense of inevitably, highly unstable, uncomfortable, squirmy, itching, restless Hurons table provides direct and professional examples of emotions accompanied by scale degrees in the major key, now the question is what links these emotions to these particular scale degrees? Huron clusters the results into seven categories of the responses he received, certainty/ uncertainty, tendency, completion, mobility, stability, power and emotion (Huron 163). The certainty/ uncertainty category is the easiest to explain through statistical properties of music. Two scale tones were described as unexpected, surprising or abrupt- the lowered supertonic and the subtonic pitches (Huron 163). Because the supertonic and subtonic pitches appear the least out of all the scale tones the feeling of surprise or abruptness is normal. The category tendency describes the scale tones level of continuation, in other words, the tones ability to carry on with the melody or song at hand. The raised dominant and the leading tone were both described with words associated with tending or leading, -both tones that are statistically limited in their possible continuation tones (Huron 163). The completion category can also be described using statistical properties of music with relevance to the tonic and mediant pitches. Both pitches were described as restful indicating the pitches connection to the end or closure of musical phrases, allowing the listener to feel at rest or home-like. The fourth category, mobility, involves the supertonic and subtonic pitch. The supertonic was depicted as modern expectancy of more to come and the subtonic as like walking with a limp. Both pitches portray the act of moving but do not hold the same leading value as the tonic. The category of power, however, can not be easily described through the statistical properties of music. The raised tonic and dominant pitches were connected with words like jarring and harsh, creating the effect of power to the listener. The last category Huron describes is emotion. Terms like pleasure, beauty, and warmth, love, bright and pleasant are used to describe the tonic, mediant and dominant pitches. Negative hedonic terms like harsh, jarring, uncomfortable, and anxious were applied to tones such as the raised supertonic, the raised subdominant and the raised dominant (Huron 164). As made apparent from the table, positive emotions seem connected to frequently occurring tones with closure (Huron 164). A peculiar fact about tonality is that different tones can suggest different and specific emotions. Even a tone in one given context can have a completely different effect in another context. There are several factors attributed to why scale degrees in the major scale cause the listener to feel a variety of emotions, one of them being the predictability of a tone. When a tone has a high rate of predictability, the experience for the listener is more positive The most predictable tones and tone sequences tend to be experienced as the most pleasant- especially if listeners are not consciously aware of the high predictability (Huron 173). The most predictable structural feature in music is cadences. Cadences are the place of rest in a musical phrase. A cadence can either end in the middle of a melody, called an inconclusive cadence, causing the ending to feel dissonant. Meanwhile, a cadence can also end at the end of a melody, creating a consonant ending call a conclusive cadence. Music theorists have long observed that cadences tend to be organized in a stereotypical fashion. It is not simply the final note of the cadence that is predictable; the final note is often approached in a characteristic of formulaic manner (Huron 154). Cadences, however are not the only feature that increase the feeling of uncertainty Another feature is the increase in uncertainty that commonly follows after the closure point (Huron 156). So not only is there high predictability before the cadence but after as well. Listeners are more apt to forebode predictability with points of disruption or closure. Music in Silent Movies (To be changed) Silent Movies In todays movies there is barely ever a silent moment. For example, while actors are walking down the street multiple sounds can be heard: the actors dialogue, the sound of footsteps, cars screeching down the road, birds chirping, etc. There is constant noise in current movies, never allowing for one second of silence. In 1890s to the late 1920s silent films were prominent among towns and cities in the United States. Although they are called silent movies, they are far from silent. Characteristics of silent films include: little or no dialogue (if there was dialogue it was written in pamphlets and given to the audience), usually black and white, live orchestras and sometimes live narrators or actors. Because there was no recorded dialogue, silent films relied heavily on the acting of actors and the music to set the mood and tone for the film. Most actors were required to over act to be able to convey the emotions across the camera without verbal help. Actors like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Clara Bow, and Blanche Sweet were all prominent in silent films and were used to portray the emotions the audience longed for. Genres of silent films include comedies, westerns, horror, science fiction, documentaries, series, animates, epics and experimental films. Like the actors in silent films, music played an essential role in this movie era, As silent cinema developed, and especially after c.1912, music came to play a crucial role in shaping and conditioning the viewers response to moving pictures (Cooke 5). Musicians were needed to write scores for the films that would effect peoples emotions the same way words would. The music was needed to take the audience through the story emotionally, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..music, by its very physical presence, created a sense of three-dimensionality singularly lacking in the projected image: while the film was projected from the rear of the hall to the screen at the front, so music played at the front was projected backwards over the audience and through a kind of transference or slippage between sound and image, the depth created by the sound is transferred to the flat surface image (Kalinak 1992, 44). (Cooke 6). Silent films were seen as an art form that had never been tried before. It was new technology that everyone was fascinated in learning and perfecting The silent era was a period of immense creativity, and there seems to be no end to its surprises (Brownlow XI). Silent films have been and will be longed cherished as timeless classics. Unfortunately, ninety percent of the films made during the silent era have disintegrated due to the use of nitrate film (Scorsese IX). Organizations like the National Film Registry and the Library of Congress work to preserve these movies and prevent any further losses. Charlie Chaplin As stated previously, Charlie Chaplin was a famous actor and director of silent films. Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in London, England. Charlie was born into fame, both his parents being renowned vocalists and actors. Appearing in small rolls for films like The Eight Lancashire Kids and Sherlock Holmes, Chaplin began his career before the age of fourteen I went home on the bus dazed with happiness, and began to get the full realization of what happened to me. I had suddenly left behind a like of poverty and was entering a long desired dream-a dream my mother had often spoken about, had reveled in. I was to become an actor! (Chaplin 78). Chaplin continued his career through vaudeville, which brought him to the United States where in 1913 he signed with the Keystone Film Company, making thirty-five films. From 1915 on, Chaplin directed his own movies and the popularity of his baggy-trousered tramp character earned him a million-dollar contract with First National in 1917 (Cooke 27). While working under First National, Chaplin made the films Shoulder Arms in 1918, The Kid in 1921 and The Pilgrim in 1923. In his later years, Chaplin focused away from directing and dabbled in music, sports and writing. Charlie Chaplin was a self-taught musician and wrote music for many of his films, for example Sing a Song, Eternally and With You Dear in Bombay. Chaplin also authored four books: My Autobiography, My Trip Abroad, A Comedian Sees the World and My Life in Pictures. Charlie Chaplin died Christmas day in 1977 at the age of seventy-eight. Over Charlie Chaplins career he was able to convey to the audience any character he wished Chaplins range of characters was extraordinary: he could be a waiter, a down-and-outer turned cop, a hapless immigrant, a vagrant violinist, a soldier- all with equal conviction (Kobel 59). Being the chameleon that Chaplin was, he spoke to the audience through his characters; appealing to peoples emotions and desires. (More sources and information to be added) How Major Tonalitys Effect on Human Emotion is used in Chaplins Movie

The Combray Section of Marcel Prousts Swanns Way Essay -- Swanns Wa

The Combray Section of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The "Combray" section of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way is an extended meditation on an idyllic past. The book begins, though, not with recollections of Combray, but with a description of the narrator's half-asleep state, a state of consciousness where he does not know where, or even who, he is. The expanded memories of his past, then, seem an attempt to establish a stable sense of self, a sense that continually eludes him. In this exploration, which constitutes the entirety of the "Combray" section, we find the narrator, a young man with literary aspirations, struggling to understand the characters of his childhood in a way that captures their contradictions, only to find that each person seems more like a spectrum of singular, varying selves than a single delimited identity.    When we encounter the narrator addressing the problems faced by the artist, he notes that "the ingenuity of the first novelist" lay in the realization that a simplification of characters that corresponds to the "suppression" of "'real' people" inevitably makes novels stronger, more effective in conjuring a sympathetic response from a sensitive reader. "A 'real' person," he begins, profoundly as we may sympathize with him, is in a great measure perceptible only through our senses, that is to say, he remains opaque, offers a dead weight which our sensibilities have not the strength to lift. If some misfortune comes to him, it is only in one small section of the complete idea we have of him that we are capable of feeling any emotion; indeed it is only in one small section of the complete idea he has of himself that he is capable of feeling any emotion either. (83) ... ... key to inner life. As everyone is guarded, influenced by the conditions that surround them, the social conditions, it seems that only when alone may they be truthful.    But instead of confirming this, instead of giving us insight into the "core" essence of his characters, the "truth" that all their masks conceal, Proust confounds us by making the confessions imparted in solitude as constructed as any others. In fact, perhaps the only distinguishing factor, is that in solitude, his characters are free to feel and admit guilt, something they would be reluctant to admit in public. But even in private, their lives are organized as a sort of public confession, as they struggle to maintain the illusion of a stable self.    Work Cited Proust, Marcel. Swann's Way. Trans. C. K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin. NY: Random House, 1981.   

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay -- Health

Many women that become pregnant are unaware of the consequences of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and the damaging effects it has on the fetus. When a woman who is pregnant drinks alcohol, the baby is also drinking alcohol. Furthermore, the amount of alcohol that is consumed by the mother is the same amount the baby receives through the mother's placenta. Many doctors advise that it is okay for the mother to have an occasional drink, however, some women cannot stop at one drink, and they continue to drink in excess throughout their pregnancy. Still, even moderate consumption of alcohol is not wise, because it is still unknown how much alcohol the fetus is able to tolerate without potential harm. Consequently, a fetus that has been exposed to alcohol while in the mother's womb has a high probability of being born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Women that want to become pregnant or are pregnant need to be educated on the effects that alcohol can have on the fetus and the devastating result of having a child born with FAS. Fetal alcohol syndrome was first discovered and treated in the late 1960's in France and a few years later in the United States. This syndrome results from the toxic effect of alcohol and its chemical factors on the developing fetus and brain (Christensen 1). According to many physicians and researchers, FAS is one of the leading causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities, along with Down syndrome and spina bifida in the U.S. Moreover, FAS is said to be the number one cause of nonhereditary mental retardation (Christensen 1). Out of each 10,000 children born in the U.S., between 3 and 30 suffer from FAS. The overwhelming effects of this condition can easily be prevented if the mothe... ...s work, but exactly how it happens is still under investigation. The research continues on the nutritional, hormonal and cellular events regulating fetal development to help guide early interventions in children with FAS. Education on FAS should come from the woman's doctor or a mandatory motherhood class, which could be provided at the physician's office, teaching the importance of taking care of the baby's health during pregnancy. If a woman chooses not to take her baby's welfare into consideration while she is pregnant, this should be considered gross negligence and should incur high penalties. The consequences of knowingly hurting the fetus could result in being imprisoned for a specific amount of time, rehabilitation if warranted, and or community service at a county facility that houses people who have mental and or physical problems that stem from FAS.

The Noble Gases Essay -- essays research papers

The Noble Gases   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Noble Gases are the far right elements on the periodic table. On the earth they are scarce so we don ¹t see much of them. They are do not react well with anything. In fact until around the 50 ¹s they hadn ¹t found anything that they would react with any of the gases. But then someone found out that Fluorine one the of most reactive elements could form compounds with Xenon. Later they found that it could react with most of the other nobles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Helium is one of the more scarce nobles on earth but in the universe it makes up 25% of it. Helium ¹s presence was discovered by using spectral analysis to detect helium in the sun ¹s spectrum. Helium is not found a lo...

Evaluate Sociological Explanation of the Relationship

Evaluate sociological explanation of the relationship between gender and religious beliefs and practice. (33marks) Within religion, there are clear gender differences. In some regions, women aren’t to show any parts of their bare skin and are most certainly not allowed to become figures of religious authority, whereas in other religions, women are able to dress as they please and progress to one day become figures of religious authority. This difference in religion is also apparent in religious beliefs and religious participation.With regards to religious activity, and beliefs in God, sin, evil and life after death, generally speaking, more women than men participate in such activities. For example, in 2005 it was found that 1. 8million women in England were churchgoers, whereas only 1. 36million men were. Miller and Hoffman support this by finding that women express a greater interest in religion, have stronger personal commitment to it and attend church more, and this applie s to all ages, religious organisations and faiths.Bruce estimates that there are twice as many women than men involved in sects. Some sociologists have seen this difference in religious activity and beliefs as being connected to the different ways of which men and women see God – the god of love and forgiveness or the God of power and control. Sociologists have put forward several explanations for the gender differences in religious beliefs and practices, but most tend to focus on the reason for women’s relatively high level of participation and men’s low levels.Miller and Hoffman state that women are more religious because they are socialised to be more passive, obedience and caring – qualities that are valued by most religions, and it’s claimed that this is the reason why women are more likely to be attracted to religion then men. Men who are seen to have these qualities are also more likely to be religious, so perhaps it is not so much about the gender, and it is the way of which you are socialised.Miller and Hoffman also noted that women are more likely to have part time jobs, whilst also being fall time carers, so as a consequence of this, they have more room for organising their time to participate in religious activities. Women are also more likely to be attracted to the church as a source of gender identity. Greeley argues that taking care of other family members increases religiosity in women because it involves responsibility to ‘ultimate’ welfare as well as everyday needs. Similarly, Davie argues women’s closer proximity to both births – because they are those who give irth to their babies, as well as death because they are more likely to be the ones to look after the elderly when they are on their deathbeds. This brings them closer to ‘ultimate’ questions about the meaning of life that religions are ultimately concerned with. This also fits back in with the different ways me n and women come to see God. Women are more often associated with nature, and the healing role, because of this they may be more attracted than men to New Age Movements in particular.For example, Heelas and Woodhead found that 80% of participants in Holistic Milieu in Kendal are females, this is because such movements often celebrate the ‘natural’ and involve cults of healing which give women higher status and a sense of self-worth. Bruce argues women’s experience of child rearing makes them less aggressive and goal-oriented , as well as being more cooperative and caring, making them more attractive to New Age Movements. Men wish to achieve what women feel. Women may be attracted to New Age Movements because they emphases on the importance of being authentic, rather than merely acting out roles.Callum Brown argues New Age ‘self’-religion’s appeal to women’s wishes for autonomy and therefore attract women recruits. Women also on the othe r hand may be attracted to fundamentalism because of their certainties of a traditional gender role that it presents for them. Glock Stark, as well as Stark and Bainbridge argue that people may participate in religion because it compensates for social, organismic and ethical deprivation, which a person may be gaining a sense of. Glock and Stark argue these forms of deprivation are all common along women and this explains their higher levels of sect membership then men.Organismic deprivation stems from physical and mental health problems. Women are more likely to suffer ill health and seek healing through religion, and thus therefore more likely to join sects. With regards to ethical deprivation, women tend to be more morally conservative and thus are more likely to regard the world as being in moral decline and for this reason are attracted to sects, where their views are often shared. Social deprivation suggests that women are more likely to be poor, and this explains why there are more women than men in sects, since Sects try to gain their following from the poorer members of society.Feminists view religion as being mainly patriarchal. Many claim that religion is a patriarchal institution that systematically benefits males over females, for example in the sacred texts, where women are often unnamed. Alongside this, in almost all religions, the gods are all male, which suggests they claim women, have no power and sacred texts were also written and have been interpreted by males, and thus incorporate traditional male stereotypes and biases towards women.In some versions of Islam, women are not allowed to divorce their husbands, but their husbands may do so by saying so three times, alongside this, their husbands are allowed to have up to three other wives. In other religions, such as the catholic church, women aren’t allowed to have any involvement in religious practices other than becoming a nun, who is still seen as being subordinate in accordance to the other roles available for men, and they are also can participate in mass and so on by adopting their role as the Laity – women cannot become priests.In the church of England, women can become priests since the 90s, and in the church of Scotland, they could have become priests as early as the 1960s. Holms claim that the basis for women’s subordination is their sexuality. Menstruation is generally thought of to make a woman unclean and thus polluting holy places. This is why Hindu women are not allowed to go near family shrines when they are menstruating or pregnant. Muslim women are not allowed to come into contact with the Koran or enter the mosque whilst there are menstruating also.El Sadaawi claims that religion in itself is not oppressive towards women, women’s religious subordination stems from their oppression in the wider society. For example, the Bible and Koran were written in extremely patriarchal societies and scriptures used to justify and reinfor ce their position. Feminists point out that male and female characters in the Bible were not portrayed equally. Tough. Among the traditional regions, Aldridge points out that Quakers and Unitarians are very committed to gender equality, for example back in the 19th century, the Unitarians began ordaining women.

Plathos myth

The Myth of the Cave and a Rose for Emily The stories â€Å"Myth of the Cave† by Plates and â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner reveal how people are compelled to live their life In an Illusion or a different way rather than to live in reality, thinking that's how life is supposed to be, not knowing what life really looks like, they make this illusion seem real, at least to them. Even though the plots of the stories are different, they both share similar themes that can elate to each other, such as isolation.In the story â€Å"A Rose for Emily' the characters have similar settings in Plat&s Myth. To begin with Plat's Myth and a Rose for Emily both stories share the theme of isolation. In Plat's Myth prisoners are attached with chains to their necks not allowing them to look sideward, only towards what Is directly in front of them. Behind them there Is a burning fire with people holding up puppets that cast shadows on the wall, making the prisoners believe that the shadows that they are seeing are real people rather than Just shadows.What It really convinces the prisoners are the echoes and the sounds that fit the shadows. That Is what truly makes them believe that the shadows are real people rather than just an illusion. The prisoners live isolated in the cave from the real world, being accustomed to the darkness already. If they would peek out the bright rays of the sun would without doubt harm the prisoners eyes, they would ever let loose. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily her house plays a big role because when she was younger her father withheld her from suitors which are hat made her get used to staying inside of her house.Even when her father died, she still stayed inside her house. She feels safe within those walls and believes her world inside that home Is reality. Emily like the prisoners, also lives isolated from reality. Both stories share the theme of Isolation or â€Å"the state of being separated from other people, or a situation In which you do not have the support of other people†. Characters In both stories are Isolated from the outside, from reality. Also in â€Å"A Rose for Email' she has a servant name Toby that goes in and out of the house.Toby is the only one that knows what is going on inside the house but yet does not talk to anybody about it. When Emily dies, after the funeral, and after Emily is buried, the townspeople go upstairs to break into the room, they knew was closed for years. Inside, they found the body of â€Å"Homer Barron† a guy that the townspeople thought it was her partner, dead in the bed. After Emily died the townspeople find out the mystery inside the house. Just like in Plat's Myth, Socrates released one of the prisoners; we can compare the free prisoner with Toby in â€Å"A Rose for Emily'.When the prisoner goes out of the cave the light burned his eyes because he was used to the darkness In the cave. The prisoner, after he realized what was outside, finds out that everything he saw inside In the cave was an Illusion. He finally realized what reality Is. Comparing both stones they finally discover what was hidden. The prisoner discovered the real world outside of the cave, and the townspeople in â€Å"A Furthermore the prisoner that was set free in Plat's Myth decides to go back to the cave to tell the other prisoners that what they see in the cave is not real is Just an illusion.That what was outside the cave is reality, but the prisoners don't believe him and laugh at him. The prisoners weren't interested of what it was outside of the cave. They also talk about killing the freed prisoner if he tries to set them free. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily', even after her father's dead, she still separates herself from the townspeople. She refuses to have a social life out of her house. With the only person that the townspeople saw her with was with Homer, which they believe it was her boyfriend.In both stories we see house both characters are sca red to get out of their comfort zone because they are already dependent of one place. They feel secure being inside the same place. In the â€Å"Myth of the Cave† by Plato and â€Å"A Rose for Emily' by William Faulkner both stories shows similarities in their characters how they isolate themselves in their comfort zone because both of them relay in a place where they don't go away from. For example in Plat's Myth is the cave and in â€Å"A Rose for Emily' is the house where she spends her life.It also shows in Plat's how one of the prisoners is set free and he discovers that what he sees in the cave was Just an illusion. Like in â€Å"A Rose for Emily', when she dies the townspeople finally discovers what was hidden in her house. In both stories the characters discover reality but some others refuse to know what reality is. Emily died without knowing the reality outside her house, and the prisoners refused to believe that there is something else outside the cave.