The Michelin Man Essay Example for Free

The Michelin Man Essay The Michelin Man goes to show that Michelin tires are either longer lasting than other brands or it can mean that you as a consumer get to grow old literally because all this time, you were able to avoid accidents using the said brand of tires. The Michelin man can also mean that given the demographics of America’s population, wherein the dominant age bracket belongs to the ages between 18 years old and over, constituting 227,719,000 as of 2007. Looking at Michelin USA’s present website, Â  one can get an exact answer with regards to the evolution of the Michelin Man, the website states that the Michelin Man was evolving given the period and current tire innovations so as to always remain in phase with his time. The slogan on the other hand, is pretty much timeless, so there seems to be no need, in the part of the company, to change it. The 2009 BMW M3 has been issued a recall last November 14, 2008 specifically the ones with an optional double clutch transmission. The problem occurs when the vehicle enters a situation of rapid vehicle deceleration; the transmission software has a chance of performing a multistage downshift, causing the engine to stall and increases the risk of a crash. The proposed solution will be the reprogramming of the engine and transmission electronic control unit with updates on the software, free of charge. I am not aware of this recall, due to the fact that it was not pretty much made as public as other problems, but if given the resources, and the fix can be done in a short amount of time, I will still get myself a 2009 M3 because I myself know for a fact that BMW is fast in fixing vehicles that suffer recalls, plus the BMW brand seldom suffers long lasting problems due to their dedication in giving the best to their customers. Bibliography Michelin USA. The Michelin Man: the living tire. Michelin. Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.michelin.com/corporate/front/templates/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=99lang=EN United States Census. Resident population by age and sex: 1980 to 2007. Census. Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s0007.pdf Motor Trend. 2009 BMW M3 recalls. Motor Trend. Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2009/bmw/m3/recalls/index.html

Jack Neo Essay Example for Free

Jack Neo Essay A very well-known filmmaker, Jack Neo is a commonly identified name that all Singaporeans will be able to relate to. Besides the 13 films that he has directed and some which he acted in, most Singaporeans will remember him deeply for his comedic cross-dressing role as Liang Po Po and Liang Xi Mei. His productions have certainly managed to capture the hearts of most Singaporeans as they are able to relate with his movies. He is arguably the most successful filmmaker in terms of box office earnings with â€Å"I Not Stupid† earning S. 8million, â€Å"I Not Stupid 2† earning S$4.6million and â€Å"Money No Enough† earning S$5.8million. Beyond earnings, he placed Singapore on the world map by clinching 6 international film awards for â€Å"Homerun† including Best Director at the Montreal Film Festival. The film also led to the Golden Horse Award being awarded to the first Singaporean, Megan Zhang, for Best New Performer. Adding to his tally are the Public Service Medal Award in 2004 and the Arts Cultural Medallion Award in 2005. His influence and achievements in the film industry in Singapore is undeniable and it is probably the most tangible and easily recognizable one. Neo’s films have certain characteristics that audiences can often expect even without reading spoilers. On top of all the laughs and drama, there are usually a couple of hidden messages within the plot. These messages tend be critiques of the government policies. In â€Å"Money No Enough†, Keong who was a mandarin speaking local worker who perhaps was more deserving of a promotion got overlooked because of a new colleague who received overseas education and spoke English. This is an attempt by Neo to stab at the government’s policy of attracting foreign talents who are given preferential treatment. This is shown by the film where Keong, who is more industrious and sincere in the corporate society, was trumped by foreigners. This greatly reflects the struggles of the Chinese-speaking majority in Singapore who feel the sacrifices of the growth and globalization of Singapore. In â€Å"I Not Stupid†, Liu told his son to study hard so that he can be employed in the civil sector where he can earn high wages in the future. His wife then adds ‘Better still, be a minister’. This is a message that might be hard to catch for foreigners but hints at many Singap orean’s sentiments that the ministers are being overpaid. Hard-earned wages are used to supplement the wages of these ministers. Another instance is in the way that Neo portrays the EM3 students in â€Å"I Not Stupid†. The streaming since young by the Singapore education system has often been criticized to be promoting academic elitism where students in lower streams are seen as inferior, and often condemned to a much harder path towards success in society. Neo’s movies are also characterized by the very easily relatable characters that will often coincide with a large number of the population. Every audience would have experienced or know of someone close who experienced something similar. As Neo said, ‘As a director, I like real. Everything in my movie is real’. He could claim that the films were based on true stories and the audience would have bought it. His films are generally family oriented where the male actors reflect the lives of many male white and blue collared Singaporeans, working hard in a harsh society with many obstacles in the way to provide for their family in material terms. The ability to strike a chord with his audiences, many who followed his antics on previous television appearances is a major reason that Neo’s films have been so popular. Love is also a very big part of the films that Neo has made. Parent’s love, sibling’s love and friendship are a large part of his movies where love drives the characters’ actions. For example in â€Å"I Not Stupid†, Kok Pin wanted to commit suicide because he felt unloved whenever his mum caned him. However it was because of love that his mum did it because she wanted him to succeed in society. This in itself sent a message to the audience that the way they loved their children might not be well-received and will often be misinterpreted. The scene encourages parents to communicate more with their children to avoid something similar from happening. In â€Å"Homerun†, it was the brother’s love that led Kiat Kun in a wild goose chase to retrieve his sister’s shoes, and friendship that led to Beng Soon giving new pairs of shoes to Kiat Kun and Seow Fang. Neo’s films also feature a lot of Singlish and Hokkien lines which is one of the most significant part about being a Singaporean. Despite the government’s continuous efforts to drive out Singlish and dialects, Neo embraced it and made them an essential part of his film. The presence of hokkien was also in contrary to what the government was trying to achieve as a ban was carried out on dialect radio and television broadcasts since the 1970s. Singaporeans could easily relate to the Singlish and the dialects in the show and hence propelling it to greater popularity. Neo has so far used a formula of failure, self-realization and success for his films and this might not be realistic in fact. His films however serve as a form of motivation for the struggling Singaporeans who identifies with his films. The happy endings that Neo has been known to produce will give any person the necessary push required to try harder and be rewarded in the end. His recent appearances have been more muted following his scandal in 2010 as he waits for the scandal to be forgotten. The most recent film â€Å"We Not Naughty† has been disappointing compared to the successes of the first few due to the very predictable storyline that gets boring eventually. It is yet to be seen if he will be able to create another success story for himself in the near future. [ 1 ]. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0626090/#Director [ 2 ]. http://www.jteam.com.sg/aboutus/jackneo.asp [ 3 ]. http://www.sinema.sg/2008/07/14/sinema-screens-jack-neos-first-films/ [ 4 ]. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,221199,00.html [ 5 ]. http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla65/65cc-e.htm

Administrative Or Conventional And Critical Research Media Essay

Administrative Or Conventional And Critical Research Media Essay The field of mass communications is relatively new and is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in nature. It is therefore not surprising that the approach to mass communications research will be mixed. This essay attempts to look at the issues which gave rise to research theories and distinguish between the terms administrative or conventional and critical research. It will discuss and contrast the similarities of both types of research while evaluating the usefulness and relevance of both approaches and what it meant for the development of the media. Finally, it will look at the different traditions of media research and explain how they manifest either conventional or critical characteristics. The history of mass communications research is a short one. In the 1940s, when communication and media studies came about in the United States of America (USA), research focused on the needs of an expanding society, including the positioning of political and economic interests which (was based on the critical pragmatism) and sociology of the Chicago School (Hardt, 1992, p. 9). However, Wilbur Schramm suggested that communications research was quantitative, rather than speculative and argued that its practitioners such as Lazarsfeld, Lewin, Laswell and Hovland (who were identified as the founding fathers of communications research in the USA) were deeply interested in theory, but in the theory they can test (Hardt, 1992, p. 11). His view ignored the history of concerns about communication and culture that had characterized the Chicago School (Hardt, 1992, p.10). Schramm insisted that they were behavioural researchers and as such interests in the wider social and cultural aspects of media and communication were left unaddressed. Schramms interest was journalistic rather than scientific and communications research is the USA served the system at the time instead of challenging it because of the influence by media and commercial interests. Hardt (1992) concluded that in the USA: Mainstream communication and media research had failed to address critical developments from within and without its boundaries. It had remained within specific categories of interests, reflected in an academic specialization in the study of communication that was interdisciplinary by its commitment to a behavioural science orientation, but without any significant or successful attempt to break out of its modiac circle (p. 19). In Great Britain, media research did not begin until the early 1960s. Halloran noted that a more critical, holistic approach emerged where the approach to research was more disciplined and systematic and focused on media as institutions and communication as a social process. The first review of the field was conducted in Great Britain and published in 1963 (Halloran 1963) and referred to few research exercises which concentrated on media effects which looked at the impact of media on attitudes and behaviour of individuals. Even though a number of studies have been conducted in the field of mass communications, researchers have not been able to gather enough information because of the way research has been defined, initiated, supported and organized, (Halloran,1981, p. 9). He adds that in addition to having limited information, it is also unfair and biased. He emphasized: Research is not initiated, organized, executed or applied in a social/political vacuum. Appreciation of the nature of research and its application calls for an understanding of the historical, economic, political, organizational, disciplinary, professional and personal factors which impinge on the research process in so many ways (p. 33). Halloran (1981) defined conventional research as having value-free, positivistic, empiricist, behaviouristic, psychological emphasis (p.34). He noted that earlier media research conformed to the dominant paradigm at the time and responded to the requirements of modern, industrial, urban society for empirical, quantitative, policy related information about its operations (p.37). Research was basically carried out to improve the effectiveness of the media and assist media entities in achieving its aims and objectives. This type of research used quantitative methods such as surveys, and field experiments (Boyd-Barret, 1995, p. 69) while critical media research was concerned with obtaining data that could easily reproduced (reliable data) through scientific testing as opposed to data that was valid. It was more holistic in approach and was viewed as being service orientated. Critical research was criticised because it was viewed as alternative research which did not support the status quo at the time as most media entities supported administrative research. It challenged the long held values of media establishments and provided the first real challenge to media entities. In this regard, most media organisations viewed critical research as being not scientific, qualitative and having a political agenda. Halloran (1981) points to three main characteristics that differentiate critical research from conventional research and which would have been ignored by the latter. Firstly, he said communication is treated as a social process. While administrative research was described as being media centric and pro -media critical research looked at the institution behind media and those affected by the media. This suggested that administrative research was more occupied by the efficient and effective operation of the media at the expense of other issues such as refining concepts, development of theories and the whole notion of social change. In contrast, critical research is what Halloran called society centric and to this end it addressed issues of public concern and focused on how media addressed these societal or public concerns. One of the striking features is that it looks at the medias role in promoting the democratic process and social reproduction (Boyd-Barret, 1995, p. 188). It also examines the inverse effect of the communications process i.e how social factors affect communication and media operations. One such example is the research of Racism and Mass Media (Hartmann and Husband, 1974) which examined the role of media with regard to racial prejudice. A good example that amply demonstrates both the weaknesses of the administrative approach and the broader, more realistic perspectives of the sociological or critical approach, is to be found in research which has attempted to deal with the alleged media/violence relationship (Halloran, 1995, p. 26). Secondly, media institutions are studied in relation to other institutions and within the wider social context. Critical research examines the whole system rather than just mere individuals which was the focus of administrative research, its unit of measure was society as opposed to the individual and research was not conducted in a vacuum. Critical researchers look at issues of ownership, control and technology. By contrast, administrative research focused on fine tuning media methods to facilitate specific institutional aims and goals. In so doing, it ignored certain factors that affected the communications process as well as what the media produced. The third characteristic, as described by Halloran, is that critical research addressed issues associated with structure, organization, professionalism and participation. Its more independent of institutions, policy and problem orientated and research enquiries are conducted externally with the aim of forming policies. Unlike administrative research, critical research is less likely to be of a social or administrative character and does not stroke the egos of media managers and owners by researching their issues or by accepting their definitions of media problems. Critical research challenged their (administrative) ideologies and attempted to provide alternative research forms to the field. Critical research and its researchers became very unpopular and were viewed with suspicion because it was hoped at the time, that research would support the status quo and the system. The dominant paradigm at the time would have viewed critical theorists as not supporting the status quo. Additionally, critical research was starved for funding while administrative research was financed by the institutions that commissioned the research and as such the results were predetermined. In attempt to make mass communications research scientific, administrative researchers pushed the study of mass communications into positivism and empiricism. Earlier, the entire study of mass communication assumed that mass media have a total and immediate effect and thought audiences to be passive. Early effects studies were preoccupied by persuasion and studies were grounded in psychology, more specifically referred to psychoanalysis and stimulus response and emerged primarily in the USA (Newbold, 1995). The development of the media effects tradition started in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when many social upheavals were being experienced by many countries and the media was viewed to be engaged in social control by moulding behaviour in line with the will of those who controlled the media (Newbold, 1995, p. 7). Then, the content of media was viewed as having direct effects on individuals who relied on the mass media as their only source of information about the world. Newbold (1995) notes that this gave rise to the hypodermic needle theory or magic bullet theory which implied that mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on their audiences (Hypodermic needle model, Wikipedia). The Payne Studies of 1928 were the first major empirical studies to establish effects. Carried out in the USA, these studies looked at how motion pictures impacted children. The findings of the studies indicated that while films provided blue prints for living the effects of these films were not anti-social. Newbold (1995) stated that Cantrils study was among the first to question the magic bullet model and involve social and cultural factors in its analysis. Much criticism of effects studies focused on the media centric approach of researchers and the individualistic approach of the research, thereby being administrative in nature. Researchers were viewed as taking an approach which was purely interested in the direct relationship between the medium and its audience, failing to take into account the social and cultural influences of audiences which might also help shape their views (Newbold, 1995, p. 12). In this regard, social and audience interpretations were seldom taken into account. The Peoples Choice Study, conducted by Lazarsfeld et al and which sought to reveal the importance of interpersonal ties in the mass communications process (two step flow) was heavily criticised by Mills (1959) who described the approach taken in the study as abstracted empiricism because it was viewed as a study of voting in American politics and not necessarily the substance of opinion or dynamics. Newbold (1995) explained that: By abstracted empiricism, Mills is referring to the prevailing high value ascribed to statistical data derived from sampling procedures and interviews data upon which assumptions are made, and the relations between them established. He argued that quantification was pursued for its own sake, and at the expense of other major important issues for which quantifiable data might be difficult to obtain (p. 18). This in itself meant that the research displayed administrative characteristics which was media centric in nature and conducted in a vacuum without any social considerations. Newbold (1995) adds that while abstracted empiricism still appears to be a characteristic of this style of research, the two-step flow is still one of the most important developments in effects tradition because of its sociological orientation and shifting focus from the individual to the primary group thereby making the social context difficult to ignore. Following on from media effects, another tradition in mass communications research which is similar in focus but opposed to its perspectives is the political economy tradition. The political economy tradition searches for answers to the question of power of the media in the analysis of their structures of ownership and control. Mosco (2004) offered two definitions of political economy. Firstly, he described political economy as the study of the social relations, particularly the power relations that mutually constitute the production, distribution and consumption of resources, including communication resources (p. 6). This definition he explained focuses on how the communication business operates. A more general and ambitious definition of political economy is the study of control and survival in social life (Mosco, 2004, p.7). By these definitions, Mosco points to the fact that media institutions are both economic and political in nature. Adopting a fundamentalist Marxist approach, studies of this tradition have been based on the assumption that the dynamics of culture producing industries can be understood primarily in terms of their economic determination (Murdock and Golding, 1977, p. 37, cited in Bussaba, 2008, p. 24), thus the contents of the media and the meaning carried by their messages are determined by the economic base of the organization in which they are produced. Political economy is also characterized by an interest in examining the social whole or the totality of social relations that make up the economic, political, social and cultural areas of life (Mosco, 1995, p. 6) which included moral implications with an interest in social intervention to change society. Mosco (2004) indicates: Traditionally, the political economy of communication studied the major business firms responsible for producing and distributing mass media and the government agencies responsible for regulating and making communication policy. It focused on the power of media companies, demonstrated in the trend towards media concentration, and on how they use this power to influence media content (p. 28). With the aim to broaden the perspective in political economy, recent work addressed major processes such as commodification, spatialization and structuration. These process looked at making communications a market commodity; addressing the growth and spread of media institutions (especially the simplification by governments to do this by developing pro business regulation and policies; media production and access influenced by social, class, gender and race (Mosco, 2004). The precise mechanisms and processes whereby ownership of the media or control of their economics is translated into the message are complex and often problematic. The workings of the control are not easy to demonstrate or easy to explain empirically. The evidence is often circumstantial and is derived from the ideology implicit in the message and the interests of those in control. Mosco (2004) added that cultural studies and policy science are disciplines on the boundaries of political economy (p. 26). The broad based intellectual movement of the cultural studies approach which focuses on the constitution of meaning in texts and defined broadly to include all forms of social communication can contribute to the process of renewing political economy in several ways (Storey, 2003, p. 15, cited in Mosco, 2004, p. 26). Additionally, Mosco (2004) highlighted how cultural studies contributed to a broad based critique of positivism and has defended a more open philosophical approach that concentrates on subjectivity or on how people interpret their world, as well as the social creation of knowledge (p. 26). However, political economy can also contribute to rethinking cultural studies since it insists on epistemology that maintains the value of historical research, of thinking in terms of social totalities, with a well grounded moral philosophy and a commitment to overcome the distinction between social research and social practice (Mosco, 2004, p. 26). British cultural studies arose in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the Marxist informed work of Raymond Williams, Richard Hoggart and Edward Thompson who were all interested in political questions of class culture, democracy and socialism as it related to working class cultures in the UK. Williams work contributed significantly to the development of cultural studies as he attempted the study of relationships between elements in a whole way of life (Williams, 1965, p. 334). In 1964, Hoggart together with Stuart Hall established the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) which analysed mass media and popular culture and while many researchers did not share Hoggarts view of mass culture and cultural decline they did adopt some culturalist methodologies studying cultural texts and practices including media texts and practices (Gough-Yates, 2007). Structuralist methods allowed cultural studies to explore the rules and practices of culture, including media culture, and to ask how culture might generate the missing (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 33). Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes while credited with making significant contributions to structuralism were also criticised for the structuralist assumption that signs can have stable, denotive meanings. Althussers concepts have also contributed to the development of cultural studies by pushing cultural studies to more analysis of popular culture and its role in fixing and containing identities away from the Frankfurt school style focus of the media. The Althusserian approach, because of its view of media products as closed texts that imprison their audiences and denies them any agency in their lives was challenged (Gough- Yates, 2007, p. 20). Gramscis model of hegemony argued that the consumption of poplar and media culture can be empowering as a refusal of subordination or form of resistance to dominant ways of being and doing (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 32) and it helped scholars to address some of the criticisms of the Althusserians perspectives. Poststructuralists approaches also informed cultural studies and drew more attention to audiences rather than texts because of its approaches to cultural construction of meaning and their power relationships as it related to society and the domination of groups (based on gender, class, sexuality etc). As such, cultural studies shared some of its political interests with feminism and was challenged by feminists theory and politics which argued that cultural studies marginalized feminist issues and concerns (Schiach, 1994). This was evidenced in the CCCS Womens Studies Group (1978) publication Women Take Issue where feminist researchers encountered considerable difficulties in working around definitions of culture and theoretical perspectives that excluded and marginalized women, (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 28). Post modern theory which has engaged cultural studies since the 1980s has broken down the traditional boundaries between culture and art, high and low culture, and art and the comme rcial which reflects the cultural, economic and technological change of society. Cultural studies especially new audience research offers the study of mass communications a means of researching through qualitative research, the cultures and discourses of media use in a new way (Gough-Yates, 2007, p.33). Hermes (2005) notes that the sudden increase in qualitative audience studies in mass communications research is sometimes know as the ethnographic turn (or new audience research) because key studies involved are inspired by particular traditions of anthropological research called interpretive ethnography (p. 5). Although new audience research is a type of research it is different from other traditions that use comparable research techniques. New audience research practitioners prefer the use of qualitative methods rather than quantitative which allows them to study more social contexts in which the media is used; its focus is more culture and cultural backgrounds that are sometimes marginalized by mainstream research traditions and its research objective is often popular culture. Interactive research methods such as interviews are used and it often has a feminist agenda. One prime example of New Audience Research is Ien Angs study of watching Dallas, the American prime time soap opera (Ang, 1985, cited in Hermes, 2005, p. 6) in which Ien Ang was able to assess, through qualitative methods, audience pleasure in viewing the show. Ethnographic turn was born of three traditions including British or European cultural studies; American cultural studies and qualitative mass communications research and ethnographic refers to four characteristics including the study of the media in a broader social context rather than in isolation as done in the James Lull research of the role of television in the dynamics of family life. The meanings of media practices are of much more interest than media practices in new audience research and stands for a more political investment as the practices of media are mostly researched for specific institutional goals. Finally, its aim is to develop theoretical understandings of the practices that were observed through lengthy, open interviewing (Hermes, 2005, p. 28). The lack of methodology and its revisionist politics has been the most popular criticisms of New Audience Research. In conclusion, much of mass communications research now is neither administrative nor critical and proceeds as if no debates had been held as Livingstone (1993) points out and she advises that all research projects should consider text, audience and context. She adds both research processes and its subject matter can be questioned since much research from either tradition can be, and often is, used to support or critique the status quo (p, 7).

Susan Hills Women in Black and Mary Shellys Frankenstein :: English Literature

Susan Hill's 'Women in Black' and 'Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein' The word gothic means 18th Century literature referring to a frightening manner of content being used. I have chosen two gothic novels to indicate the typical features of a gothic novel. One is Susan Hill's 'Women in Black' and 'Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein'. These two gothic novels concentrate on the two major worries within society when these books were published. Frankenstein concentrates on the pre-curser on science fiction. This pre-curser in Frankenstein is man's objective to play god. Frankenstein was written in a period of time when science was elevating but society in general was afraid to accept a progress being made by man they preferred progresses justified by God. Mary Shelly could relate to her novel of 'Frankenstein' to the period of time when it was written because the many people living in the 18th century when she was alive, were driven by religion not by science and new revelations being made by man were considered to be playing god. In Mary Shelly's Frankenstein she states in the introduction of the book that, during the time period when Frankenstein was written the majority of published novels were not gripping or new and her novel would make an unusual change to which society can relate to. The Women in black concentrates on the grief when losing a young child. This was published in 2000 and it is relatable towards today's society because a lot parents today can relate to having children and know how protective they are towards their own children. Personally since I do not have children of my own I found it difficult to relate with the grief the characters posses and from that my general interest in the story began to sway. The typical feature a gothic novel possesses is setting the scene. The second chapter of The Women in Black concentrates on the surroundings, the author portrays the weather on a Monday afternoon in November as a lightning heart of change, never seeming to come fully light and also raw to and a yellow fog, a filthy fog, evil smelling fog, a fog that choked and blinded, smeared and stained. Susan Hill instantaneously creates a felling of ill being and fear. The novel begins in November which is a symbolism of death, creating negative atmosphere to begin the novel with. In comparison with Mary Shelly's Frankenstein this is very similar. When the creature Frankenstein is created, the Author portrays the weather and time of day as a, dreary night of November. Also instantaneously Mary shelly has created a felling of fear describing the event to occur again in the month of November and also

Comparing Middletons A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumonts Knight

Upturning Social Tradition in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle Satirical dramatic works from early seventeenth-century England provide invaluable information about the society that spawned them through their comical and critical insights. Recurring themes from these works enhance one's knowledge of the culture in which they first appeared. The ascension of the lower and middle classes into social prestige and nobility emerges among the most prevalent dramatic themes of the time. Capitalizing upon the subsequent social confusion, seventeenth-century playwrights convey the uncertainty of whether to follow the dictum of flagging traditions or to purchase a higher place in society. To understand the nuances of how social change affected England, one needs only to glance at Thomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, which illustrates the struggle of the English aristocracy to survive as lower-born citizens triumphantly rise into its ranks. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside's sister drama, Francis Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle, also depicts this situation in England despite its differing plot and structure. Moreover, both plays feature similar resolutions that subtly contribute to the aura of social confusion. To emphasize the prevalence of upward mobility, Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle feature women who overcome sexually-motivated male suitors by feigning death, an action that symbolically exemplifies the quavering social boundaries and the diminishing... ...h works. One inconspicuous ripple of the numerous social shock waves appears as women overcome their insolent suitors by feigning death: a figurative upheaval of orthodox social values. In addition, the unfulfilled eroticism of the suitors suggests the future deterioration of their belief that they must marry a woman for propagation and not for love. After the women escape subjection to this lifestyle by faking their deaths, the consequences of their resurrection demonstrate the inconstancy of cultural certainties in their society. Works Cited Beaumont, Francis. The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Ed. John Doebler. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967. Middleton, Thomas. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Ed. Alan Brissenden. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1997.

Music and Memory in D. H. Lawrence’s Piano Essay -- Literature

D. H. Lawrence’s poetry is said to often be of â€Å"great biographical interest† (Encyclopedia Britannica), and his poem â€Å"Piano,† written in 1918, eight years after the death of his mother, illustrates his attachment to his mother through the device of an unwilling memory evoked when he hears a woman singing. Though Lawrence’s relationship with his mother is said to have been â€Å"an intensely—often labeled abnormally—close relationship† (Pearson and Watson), it is also said that it was she who encouraged him to obtain an education and to write. His mother was a teacher, and according to Norton, it is her â€Å"delicacy and refinement† that he â€Å"allied† himself with rather than his less educated, coarse coal miner father (2248). It is she whom he sided with in the conflict-ridden relationship he witnessed between his parents. According to Wart, â€Å"Piano† expresses Lawrence’s personal response when a â€Å"song stirs memories of childhood and his mother,† involuntary as these memories may be. However, though it may be true that we should never assume that the speaker of a poem is, indeed, the poet, according to Semansky, â€Å"Lawrence's work invites us to, as he has always woven autobiographical material into his writing.† Lawrence’s â€Å"Piano† may thus be considered to be the recounting of unwanted and involuntary emotional memory brought about as a response to music. â€Å"Piano† begins by describing a setting conducive to reflection and remembrance, â€Å"Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me† (Line 1). Intimacy is implied in the setting: â€Å"the dusk,† the singing being â€Å"soft† and seemingly personally directed to one individual all lend themselves to an aura of intimacy. This encounter draws Lawrence back through the â€Å"vista of years† (Line 2). In fact,... ..., 1900 to Present. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBPNP235&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 4, 2012). Rexroth, Kenneth. "Introduction." D.H. Lawrence: Selected Poems. New Directions, 1947. 1-23. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Saunders, Clifford. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Semansky, Chris. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Wart, Alice Van. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Pharmaceutical Science and My Interest in Chemistry Essay

I pursued bachelor of pharmacy from Sarada Vilas College of pharmacy, Mysore One of the best academic institutions for pharmacy under Rajiv Gandhi University of health sciences. Prospective Interest—— chemistry Pharmaceutical science is a multi faceted field, which incorporates a myriad number of subjects, which Include biotechnology, physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, molecular biology so on and so forth. But one field that stands out in its contribution to pharmacy is chemistry. The four years of my course work in B-pharmacy have convinced me of the fact that pharmaceutical research is on a pedestal whose weight is borne to a maximum extent by chemistry. The contribution of chemistry is ever increasing. The advent of proteomics and computational sciences including molecular modeling studies have given a new attire to applied chemistry and their range of application and potential for research motives me to take chemical sciences as my major. It is also logical of me to choose chemistry as a major because I have a firm belief that I can ultimately come well in pharmacy only if I am well equipped with the very groundwork that supports it. I am fully aware of the commitment and perseverance required for the research and believe that my aptitude and confidence will see me through the challenge. I am also confident that given an opportunity, I can contribute to the ongoing work in your graduate program in a productive manner. I hope my credentials are found worthy of admission hopefully with financial aid at your esteemed University. Admission to the department of chemistry at our university could well be that golden foundation upon which the entire edifice of my scientific career rests. I am eager to pursue my quest for knowledge by supplementing my bachelor’s degree with a master’s Degree followed by a doctoral program. My schooling at JNM high school has given me the initial proclivity towards chemical sciences as the interesting facts, it created in me a profound curiosity towards knowing more about chemistry and related sciences. Understanding that to properly pursue a goal in the field, a sound foundation in pharmacy is required; I took the highly competitive common entrance exam conducted by the Andhra Pradesh state government and was among the 10% of the test takers. These accomplishments had given me an opportunity to select pharmacy as my major in undergraduate study. My education at Saradavilas College of pharmacy is filled with great competence. The undergraduate Courses of the pharmacy curriculum have given me a comprehensive exposure to all the core fields and it helped me not only in building a strong foundation of the fundamentals but also in developing an overall perspective about the myriad fields involved like inorganic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical analysis and natural Products. Coupled with intense lab work, my curriculum has enabled me to appreciate and understand Theoretical concepts to the fullest extent with the added improvements in sensitive skills like handling of instruments and carrying out delicate experiments. Preference for us universities At the fag end of my undergraduate course I felt that a bachelor’s degree would in no way satisfy my appetite for learning. The interaction I had with academia and the information I gathered about the Novel research being done have convinced me that studying at a university in the USA would give me Superlative chance of satisfying my ambitions. The high quality of education, the broadened exposure to the practical projects and live research Work that American universities provide has inspired me to pursue my graduate studies in USA.