How Website Design Influences Customers Purchase Intentions

How Website Design Influences Customers’ Purchase Intentions Along with the rapid development of and people’s reliance on Internet, online retailing has become an essential way for retailers to sell their products to customers (Yulin et al. 2014). Retailers increasingly shift their focus to online retailing because of the consecutive decreases in customer traffic to physical stores (Banjo Ziobro, 2014; Yulin et al. 2014). Customers indicate that online shopping brings them greater convenience, various options, and instant comparisons between products; meanwhile, retailers state that online retailing lower the cost and access to larger geographic customers (Banjo Ziobro, 2014). Today, tremendous growth of online retailing intensifies the competition among online retailers and leads to higher customer expectation. Remote shopping environment allows customers easily compare different shopping websites, and switch to another one if they are not satisfied. According to Nie lsen Global Survey of Loyalty Sentiment (2013), it shows that customers have highest online switching intentions in online retailers (p. 9); therefore, how to drive customer traffic and retain customer loyalty to online shopping websites has become the new challenge of online retailers. There are many factors influencing purchase intentions in online shopping, and website design is one of the essential factors (Cho Kim, 2012). Website design of online shopping websites not only implies aesthetics butShow MoreRelatedWebsite Design, Trust And Customer Service1220 Words   |  5 Pagesto understand the most important factors that satisfy the customers when they purchase online. Once the level of the e-satisfaction increases, the purchase intention will increase and online retailers can gain more profit. Among all the factors that will potentially affect online satisfaction, the aim of this essay is to discuss the most important factors which include website design, trust and customer service. Firstly, website design has generally become a crucial step to increase the onlineRead MoreFactors Affecting Online Shopping1438 Words   |  6 PagesFactors Affecting Customers’ Satisfaction in the Environment of Online Shopping 1. Abstract Online shopping is a process of buying and selling of products and services through the Internet. Online shopping has become the fastest-growing industry and Internet users have reported that online shopping is one of their primary uses of Internet. With the help of online shopping, the consumers can purchase clothing, shoes, books, airline and events tickets, foods, computers hardware and so on. In theRead MoreOnline Shopping Conduct And Internet Shopping Essay1659 Words   |  7 Pagesonline shopping to search about the product/service and make a purchase decision to gratify the need. In some cases, instead of looking for intentionally, once in a while potential customers are pulled in by information about merchandise or services joined with the felt need. They then evaluate decisions and pick the specific alternative that best fits their criteria for meeting the obliged need. Finally, the purchase is made and post-purchase services are given. In this term paper I explore the vari ousRead MoreInfluence Of Information Communication Technology On Customers Online Purchasing Behaviour4502 Words   |  19 PagesPROPOSED RESEARCH TITLE THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON CUSTOMERS’ ONLINE PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR: THE CASE OF THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY IN THE UK TABLE OF CONTENT PART ONE: RESEARCH DESIGN PROPOSAL 1 1.0 Background to Study 1 1.1 Statement of Problem 1 1.2 Research Questions 2 1.3 Research Aim and Objectives 2 PART TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 3 2.0 Introduction 3 2.1 Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Definition 3 2.2 Benefits of ICT to Organisations 4 2.3 The ImpactRead MoreMarketing Plan For A Brand1435 Words   |  6 Pagesproposal will present the customers showing their affinity for a brand by buying the branded products or services or by showing their preference for a specific brand, and bringing more profits and market share in a brand (Keller, 1993). One of the important points that determining the superiority of a brand is its credibility. Credibility can be defined as the believability of branded product information. According to the research by Adams (2013) on the experience of customers purchasing luxury brandedRead MoreOnline Retail Behaviors Of Online Retailing Essay1976 Words   |  8 Pagesenvironment performs a role within the consumers’ behaviour. The aggregate of the environment components affect the consumers’ emotional states influencing their online retailing behaviours. Without organisations strategic systematic and conscious design of online retail environments the performance may suffer compared to the traditional brick and mortar retail setting. The atmospheric stimuli are converted into meaningful information which result in online retail behaviours. If these stimuli do notRead MoreMarketing Management : The Marketing Strategy For Elderly Customers Of Different Geography And Characteristics1432 Words   |  6 Pagesglobalization. Marketing managers are facing the wide range of challenges and opportunities in developing a suitable marketing plan and strategy fo r elderly customers of different geography and characteristics. On one hand, marketing strategies may contain site for the production unit, mode of entry and communication strategies to acquire the customer intention. On the other hand, consumers have more knowledge of products and are well aware of the variety of domestic as well as foreign products and brandsRead MoreInternet Content And The Conversion Rate989 Words   |  4 PagesHow to Personalize Your Content to Increase the Conversion Rate Despite it’s lack of use in for beginners in this industry, personalizing web content is one of the best and well known ways to increase the conversion rate of your content campaigns. Personalization is the quickest path to triggering emotions, and emotions are what ultimately drive your audience to make purchases. It is safe to say that when you start writing your copy as if it’s a descriptive memo, directed at one person, you willRead MoreResearch Paper1655 Words   |  7 PagesPlatform and Their effects on customers’ behaviors Research Meichen Qian University of California, Irvine HWID# 361 Author note Meichen Qian is now at Department of Social Science, University of California, Irvine. This researcher is a final paper for the Social Science 3A courses. Contact: Meichenq@uci.edu Abstract This paper explores five published articles that report on results from research conducted on online platform and the changes they made to the customers’ behaviors. The articlesRead MorePromotion Strategies Essay1678 Words   |  7 Pageskid consumer base, music, animated characters, fun, colorful, packaging would be used to attract children’s attention (â€Å"Kellogg’s Marketing Strategy,† n.d.). The advertising theme could also be weaved into an online story or a game on the product website, with points awarded to kids who play the games, to be exchanged with in-store or online merchandizes associated with the product. Marketing kids cereal to adults. The same attributes of fun and excitement that attract kids to the new cereal would

International Business Landscape T2 - 2555 Words

International Business Landscape: T2 (Tea Too) is a tea heaven, a tea-lovers’ heaven. It is a premium brand established in 1996 in Australia over 18 years ago and cherished internationally by all tea devotees. It has 60 stores throughout in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and America. However, the first retail outlet is located in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Maryanne Shearer is the creative director of T2 - Australia’s leading tea retailer, with largest range of tea and tea wares in Australia. It offers the country’s largest range of premium, fragrant tea and tea wares from all around the globe. Tea devotees can spend hours at their taster table, trying all the different types of hot and cold teas they have come up with. It’s†¦show more content†¦Shearer turned T2’s loose-leaf, basic tea products into premium products. According to Shearer, T2 has a depth of knowledge of tea and has pioneered sustainability in the industry (T2 Website). Shearer’s tea-focused retail chain, T2 has been purchased by tea giant Unilever in 2013 which owns Lipton brand. T2 is a great Australian success story and a story that now intends to continue with Unilever. On this acquisition, Shearer commented, â€Å"We are delighted that we have found a home for T2 that has such a depth of knowledge of tea and has pioneered sustainability in the industry. Both I and the T2 team are looking forward to working alongside new colleagues in Unilever’s tea business to realise the full potential of the business we have spent the last 17 years building.† (Unilever Website) Role of Organizational Behaviour at the Company Organizational behaviour is field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, group, and structure have on behaviour within the organization. It is the study and application of knowledge about how people act within organizations. It covers three determinants of behaviours in organizations: individuals, groups, and structure. At T2, the staff and employees focused on making sure that each and every T2 customer is satisfied and enjoy having tea and should have memorable experience. At T2, entire team is dedicated to get knowledge about tea, which far exceeds the requirements of

Business Context Wesfarmers

Question: Discuss about the Business Contextfor Wesfarmers. Answer: Wesfarmers was formed in 1914 as Western Australian Farmers Cooperative and since then it has reached to one of the largest listed companies in Australia. It has the headquarter in Western Australia and their assorted business operations involves convenience stores, hotels, liquor, supermarkets, departmental stores, office supplies and products used for the improvement of homes. Wesfarmers are one of the biggest private sectors for the employers that are employing around 220,000 and shareholders amounted to 530,000 (Wesfarmers.com.au, 2017). The main objectives of the firm is to offer a satisfactory service to their customers and return to their shareholders through fulfilling the requirements of their consumers by providing services and goods on professional and competitive basis, offering safe working atmosphere for the staffs and rewarding the good performers and offering opportunities for career growth. Furthermore, they want to contribute to the prosperity and growth of the nations in which it operates through existing operations in efficient way and placing more emphasis on the environment protection factor. Operation with honesty and integrity in carrying out the dealing both outside as well as inside the entity is their main aim. Over the past few years, they were able to reduce the injury rate from 15.2% to 33.4% and promoted diversity in their workplace with more than 3,300 employees that were identified as indigenous (Zentes, Morschett Schramm-Klein, 2017). As there are continuous changes in the global environment, various nations are going through the impact of increasing temperature, shortages of water and scarcity in food supplies. These changes have serious impact for the employees, communities, customers and economies. They are proactive regarding managing these issues as reacting to climatic changes will provide considerable environmental, social and economic benefits to all. Wesfarmers respond towards the climatic changes in 2 ways, primarily, actively managing and monitoring the emissions of their greenhouse gas and decrease them wherever possible and secondarily, through working to recognize the risks that take place due to changes in climate for the business and identify those risks (Chapple Humphrey, 2014). They are aware about the risks associated with their operation and importance of identifying, managing and monitoring the risks. They are facing the strategic risks from the increased competition, digital interference wit hin the structure of industry, ineffective implementation of strategies and loss of the efficient key managerial personnel. While operating, they face various challenges for loss of important deliveries or infrastructures that involves IT systems, fear of data security loss and integrity, business interference from the disputes in the industry, accidents and stoppages in work and inherent risks involved in sale and distribution of products. Further, the company faces risks from the regulatory authorities with regard to non-compliance of standards, regulations and applicable laws. Financial risks that are faced by the organization are reduction in access of fund, adverse movement in commodity prices and currency volatility (Hubbard, Rice Galvin, 2014). The board of the Wesfarmers are committed towards providing the satisfactory return to their shareholders and satisfying their corporate governance responsibilities and obligations for the best interest of the stakeholders and the organization. Their operations are aligned with the ASX Corporate Governance Councils recommendations issued on 27th march of 2014 and the Corporate Governance Principles (Sullivan Gouldson, 2016). To provide value to their customers and employees over the long run, Wesfarmers are committed to manage their environment and community proactively. Ten principles that are related to the sustainability issues and recognized as the most material fact to the organization are through: (1) Providing consistent focus for making the workplace safe (2) offering opportunities to the employees to improve their performance and career development (3) continuously trying to create an environment for work that is inclusive in nature with special attention to gender diversity and including the peoples from Torres Strait Island and aboriginal people (4) promising for respectful and strong relationship with the suppliers (5) promising to offer the customers with safe goods and services (6) continuously working towards reducing the intensity of emissions and improving the resistance level against the changes in climate (7) trying to reduce the waste from water and landfill and using that wherever is possible (8) maintain strict policies for corporate governance in all of their businesses (9) creating a positive involvement to the people, wherever they operate and (10) striving to generate products in responsible way when working with the suppliers to develop their environmental and social practices (Adams, 2016). Wesfarmers take advantages of various strategies over the leadership management, organizational structure, investment control, capital asset calculation and organizational control. They also use the diversification strategy. They have 9 business units and divisions that involves various products related to safety, coal, energy, Kmart, Target, Coles and each of the divisions are looked after by the board of members that include executives from their divisions, corporate offices and business divisions. Each of the division has its own rules and regulation for the operation and is responsible for implementing the strategies for the business and divisions. The acquisition strategy of Wesfarmers is mainly of 2 types, that is, add-on business or additional business and the additional division. The Howard Smith that deals in hardware products was acquired as an additional business and added to their existing business of Burnings. Moreover, Coles was also acquired as an additional division t o this group as add-on division. The strategy of Wesfarmers at business level is different from others as they have 9 divisions and each of the division can have its own strategy and each division also had different departments for corporate services. However, all the divisions are required to attain the goal that is calculated in terms of return on equity and the return on capital. Furthermore, they require to provide their individual balance sheet. They have a set for minimum return rate at their division as well as business level. From analysis of their operation, structure and environment, it is identified that the factors that have an impact on the company are the political factors, sociological factor, economic factor, technological factor, environmental factor and legal factors (Rowe et al., 2014). The government of Australia has established a legislative framework for the mining operation and the state government can implement various laws depend on the situation. The exploitation activity is looked after by the agreement of state government. Moreover, the law regarding the carbon tax is also been issued. Thus the resource business and energy division is governed by the regulations and the company shall be concerned about the cost of carbon tax and the agreement of state government (Sullivan Gouldson, 2016). Owing to the recession in global economy the sales of Kmart, Target and Coles were highly impacted. Increase of unemployment level may lead to reduction of revenue from the insurance and office supplies. However, the Coles group was the second biggest in the supermarket chain from Australia having more than 745 stores (Klettner, Clarke Boersma, 2014). In the Australian culture, it is very common for a family to spent large amount of money in supermarkets and the housewives from Australia are more likely to purchase products costing more than $100 per week for their families from supermarket. Therefore, the Coles group has good opportunity of earning good money from the Australian family (Akbar Ahsan, 2014). One of the best mining nations around the globe is Australia. Their mining industry and mine resources are better than many countries around the world. Their mining firms make the combination of most innovative technologies, products, equipments and services with a view to create the production more efficiently while promoting the safety in processing of mineral, new technology and environmental protection (Farivar et al., 2016). The legal system of Australia is very sound and involves the laws for natural resources, labour related laws and various business laws. These laws must be followed by Wesfarmers strictly to assure the implementation of crucial management criteria (Jones, Comfort Hillier, 2014). It is concluded from the above discussion that Wesfarmers is conducting their business in well manner and comply all the necessary rules and regulations of Australia. To increase the revenue, Coles started cooperating with Shell for providing petrol services. Coles also have big market share from Australia that can offer the shareholders with high return. Australian people are more likely to prefer the one-stop shopping, Burnings offers wide range of hardware products with competitive prices while Kmart and Target sell electronics and cloth at minimum price. All these factors will contribute for earning high revenue. Their diverse business involves energy, mining, coal, fertilizers and chemicals. They must utilize a good technical foundation for assuring the development of the enterprise. They should also focus more on environment protection as the natural resources in Australia are managed very well and the government of Australia always focuses on protection of environment. References: Adams, M. A. (2016). Contemporary case studies in corporate governance failures.Governance Directions,68(6), 335. Akbar, S., Ahsan, K. (2014). Analysis of corporate social disclosure practices of Australian retail firms.International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting,6(4), 375-396. Chapple, L., Humphrey, J. E. (2014). Does board gender diversity have a financial impact? Evidence using stock portfolio performance.Journal of Business Ethics,122(4), 709-723. Farivar, F., Farivar, F., Scott-Ladd, B., Scott-Ladd, B. (2016). Growing corporate social responsibility communication through online social networking in Iran.International Journal of Organizational Analysis,24(2), 274-290. Home. (2017). Wesfarmers.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2017, from https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/ Hubbard, G., Rice, J., Galvin, P. (2014).Strategic management. Pearson Australia. Jones, P., Comfort, D., Hillier, D. (2014). Environmental and Social Programmes and Rapidly Growing Retailers.Economia Seria Management,17(1), 5-17. Klettner, A., Clarke, T., Boersma, M. (2014). The governance of corporate sustainability: Empirical insights into the development, leadership and implementation of responsible business strategy.Journal of Business Ethics,122(1), 145-165. Rowe, A. L., Nowak, M., Quaddus, M., Naude, M. (2014). Stakeholder engagement and sustainable corporate community investment.Business Strategy and the Environment,23(7), 461-474. Sullivan, R., Gouldson, A. (2016). The Governance of Corporate Responses to Climate Change: An International Comparison.Business Strategy and the Environment. Sullivan, R., Gouldson, A. (2016). The Governance of Corporate Responses to Climate Change: An International Comparison.Business Strategy and the Environment. Zentes, J., Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility. InStrategic Retail Management(pp. 207-226). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.

Jessie Popes poem Whos for the game Research Paper Example

Jessie Popes poem Whos for the game? Paper Although both of these poems deal with the subject of war, the poets attitude towards war differs dramatically. Jessie Popes poem Whos for the game? supports war and encourages young men to go off and fight. The whole poem plays heavily on the young mens guilt and promotes the so-called glory of war. Wilfred Owens poem Dulce et Decorum est takes a very different attitude towards war. Owen shows the reality and horror of war whilst also addressing those who encourage men to go off to war. He is very bitter towards poets like Jessie pope the two poets did have a strong dislike for each other. Popes poem is an extended metaphor. It compares war to a game or sport. It is a very personal poem as pope addresses each young man individually. Come along, lads Popes poem has a heroic mood. It promotes the glory of war whilst convincing men that going to fight will be fun. We will write a custom essay sample on Jessie Popes poem Whos for the game? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jessie Popes poem Whos for the game? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jessie Popes poem Whos for the game? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Who would much rather come back with a crutch Than lie low and be out of the fun? The atmosphere of Wilfred Owens poem is much different. It differs within the three stanzas showing how the soldiers mood changes whilst they are serving their time fighting. The first stanza has a melancholy and fatigued atmosphere, using word such as trudge, tired and cursed. The second stanza is quick moving to portray the panic of a gas attack. This is achieved by contrasting the previous heavy words of the last stanza with the panicked short words of this stanza. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! There is then a two lined verse, which gives the reader time to pause and take in the horror of the gas attack. The last verse is much more embittered and resentful as it addresses those who encourage the young men to go off and fight. It seems as though Owen holds a grudge against these people, as there is a hint of sarcasm in his tone. My friend, you would not tell with such high zest The purpose of each poem also differs greatly. Pope writes to persuade men to go to war. Pope, not ever having experienced the fighting of war herself, encourages men to go to battle without really knowing the subject she is promoting. However, Owens poem is in response to poems such as Popes. Its purpose is to show poets like Pope the reality of war and its horror. His aim is to show these poets that war is not heroic or glorious and should not be promoted with such zest. Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, The structure of each poem represents its meaning. Dulce et Decorum est has uneven stanzas, reflecting the uncertainty of the situation the soldiers were put in. ie. Not knowing what would happen next. It has 4 stanzas, each varying in length as the poem progresses. Popes poem, however is a much more regular, evenly structured poem. It has 4 stanzas like Owens poem but they are of equal length. This reflects the poems simplicity and perhaps ironically shows the poets naivety. It shows the lack of true understanding the poet has of war. Both poems contain a regular ABAB rhyme pattern. However Owens poem has a slightly more complex rhyme pattern at the end of each stanza. This reflects the poems ominous atmosphere and the soldiers need for certainty amongst the uncertainty around them. Again, there are differences between the two poems in imagery. Whos for the game? does not have much imagery. It relates to a game throughout the poem but there is not much description of anything. The language used is colloquial to add a personal touch to the poem. Come along, lads At the end of the poem, Pope personifies the country and likens it to a girlfriend or wife to play on the guilt of the young men even more. Your country is up to her neck in a fight, And shes looking and calling for you. Wilfred Owen uses much more imagery in his poem. His describes in a fair amount of detail the aspects of war, such as the fatigue and the witnessing of a fellow soldier dying in a gas attack. In these descriptions, Owen uses different methods to emphasise the imagery, for example when he describes his friend being killed by the gas he uses a simile. And floundring like a man in fire or lime He also uses an extended metaphor of drowning when talking about the gas attack. He repeats the word drowning to give a dramatic effect. In the fourth stanza, when he is describing the real aspects of war, Owen uses very onomatopoeic words such as gargling to emphasize the disgusting conditions he had to grow accustomed to. Of vile, incurable sores The rhythm of each poems also differs whilst representing the meaning. Whos for the game? has a rhythm like a childs poem. It is simple but appealing to a cross-section of people from society. It makes the poem cheerful and easy to understand. Dulce et Decorum est is much more complex. It is trochaic therefore making the rhythm less noticeable. It makes it sound much more like a piece of prose or natural speech. Generally, these two poems have not much in common. They use different techniques to get their message across, have different moods and show two very different attitudes to war.

Paradise Lost Essay Example

Paradise Lost Essay Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost Satan Arousing the Rebel Angels, William Blake (1808) Leontien Kouwenhoven 1260707 Supervisor: Dr. J. R. Veenstra Second Reader: Prof. Dr. A. A. MacDonald 06-03-2009 Doctoraalscriptie Engelse Taal- en Cultuur Faculteit der Letteren Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Wordcount: 17. 325 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Background 5 3. Satan 13 4. Hell 21 5. Sin 30 6. Conclusion 39 7. Works Cited 43 1. Introduction Can the devil be an epic hero? This seems to be the case in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the great epic from the English Renaissance. Milton’s Satan is brave, resourceful and powerful and an excellent leader as well. When reading the work, after a few pages, the reader may indeed get the impression that Satan is an epic hero. However, this idea does not last for long; when one reaches Book III, the favourable image of Satan as a heroic freedom fighter deteriorates and in the end he is transformed into a beast. Milton’s description of Satan stands in a long tradition of representations of the devil in European literature. One of the greatest earlier works that gives us an image of the devil is Dante’s La Divina Commedia, also a work of epic proportion. We will write a custom essay sample on Paradise Lost specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Paradise Lost specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Paradise Lost specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Dante’s Commedia will be used in this essay as a contrast to Milton’s epic: Dante’s Devil seems to be the complete opposite of Milton’s Satan. He is motionless, frozen in ice and represents a passive evil. This essay will try to answer the question whether or not the devil can be an epic hero. And if not, whether or not he can be another kind of hero? The descriptions of the devil in Dante and Milton are strongly influenced by their respective world views. Milton’s Renaissance perspective is different form Dante’s medieval outlook. Satan’s heroic status owes a lot to the Renaissance world view. With the books and articles written on Paradise Lost and La Divina Commedia, one could fill a library. However, some articles and books have been very useful in writing this essay. To give some examples, John Steadman has written many articles on John Milton and Paradise Lost, of which â€Å"The Idea of Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost† and â€Å"Milton and St. Basil: The Genesis of Sin and Death† and â€Å"Milton and Mazzoni: the Genre of the Divina Commedia† have been particularly relevant. A book which gives an excellent insight in the medieval world view is C. S. Lewis’ The Discarded Image, which is very suitable in obtaining background information on both La Divina Commedia and Paradise Lost. Another work which provides relevant information on the history of the devil is Jeffrey Burton Russel’s Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages, which gives an elaborate analysis of the position of the devil in society and literature. Singleton’s translation of Dante’s La Divina Commedia is used throughout this paper1. The translation is very good, but more importantly, Singleton added extensive notes and commentaries in separate volumes. In finding out what kind of hero Satan might be, Peter Thorslev’s The Byronic Hero has been most helpful. 1 Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy: Inferno 1. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. New Jersey: Princeton: University Press, 1970. English translations of Italian quotes from La Divina Commedia have been taken from Singleton’s translation. The second chapter of this essay will provide background information on John Milton and his Paradise Lost and Dante and his La Divina Commedia. Both works can be regarded as epics and this chapter will give information on epics in general, the epic in the Renaissance and on the epic hero. Also, this chapter will discuss the epic conventions which can be found in both La Divina Commedia and Paradise Lost. Furthermore, some attention will be given to the authors themselves and their works. If Paradise Lost is an epic, then the work should contain an epic hero. The most likely character to be the hero would be Satan. This third chapter will analyse whether or not Satan can be the epic hero of Milton’s work. Romantic critics such as William Blake and Lord Byron argue that Satan is indeed the hero of the work, especially when taking into consideration books I and II of Paradise Lost. There were also critics, nowadays referred to as Anti-Satanists, who disagree with this. They generally find Satan’s speeches pompous and ridiculous and his behaviour despicable. Furthermore, these critics also take into consideration what happens to Satan after books I and II, in which Satan’s ethical and moral decline becomes apparent: as the story advances he experiences a strong regression and all his seemingly heroic traits are reduced to nothing. In establishing the heroic status of Satan, three separate elements will be analysed. The first one is Satan’s actions; the second is his appearance, and, thirdly, Satan’s character will be given attention. In Paradise Lost, Satan has a complex character, worthy of a hero. One thing that these three elements have in common is that in the beginning of Paradise Lost, they are described as being heroic: Satan’s courageous actions, his splendid exterior and brave character. However, as the story progresses, Satan loses his heroic qualities. He tricks Adam and Eve into their Fall, a non-heroic action. Furthermore, he realises that Hell is inside him and is part of his being, which shows a digression of his character. And finally, he turns into a snake, losing his former angelic appearance. Contrastingly, Dante’s Satan has no heroic qualities at all. He is an ugly brute, not able to move. He is a passive devil, as opposed to the active and well-established Satan in Paradise Lost. Dante’s Lucifer does not need many qualities attributed to him, heroic or otherwise. His role in the plot of La Divina Commedia is very limited: he is nothing more than a mere negation of God. The fourth chapter deals with Hell, since the greater part of Satan’s heroic behaviour in Paradise Lost takes place in Hell. It is not unusual for an epic hero to be placed in Hell or the underworld: the Aeneid and the Odyssey are famous works that refer to the underworld as well. However, these classical epics are not set entirely in Hades: only part of the tale is about the journey of the hero into the Underworld. Contrastingly, Satan travels out of Hell and returns to it during the poem and it forms the basis of the journey, as opposed to Aeneas and Odysseus, who have Earth as their basis. Milton’s Hell lacks order, which provides Satan with the freedom to manifest himself as leader and organiser. Hell in Paradise Lost gives Satan the opportunity to be a hero: the chains on the fiery lake are too weak to hold him and he can travel straight out of Hell without many obstacles. This lack of order in Hell stands in shrill contrast to the order of Heaven: Satan and the fallen angels have disrupted that natural order, so that now they are forced to dwell in a place where nature seems to make no sense and is chaotic. Contrastingly, the location of the devil in Dante’s Hell is very precise: he is located in the deepest pit. He is frozen in ice and not able to move. Whereas Milton’s Hell facilitates Satan’s active movement, Dante’s Hell does not provide this opportunity. The universe of Milton is very loosely structured: Heaven is above and Hell below, separated by Chaos, with Earth hanging down from Heaven by a golden chain. Later on in the poem, a bridge is created by Satan which links Earth to Hell. But when it comes to describing where precisely Hell is located and what it looks like, Milton explains this in a manner which does not reveal much about distances and dimensions. Hell is described as a â€Å"bottomless perdition† (I. 47)2 or the â€Å"vast and boundless Deep† (I. 47). Hell seems to have no borders, it is infinitely large. Yet it does have walls and gates: â€Å"Our prison strong, this huge convex of Fire, / Outrageous to devour, immures us round / Ninefold, and gates of burning Adamant / Barr’d over us prohibit all egress† (II. 434-437). This forms a contrast to Dante’s Hell , which is very ordered and consists of nine concentric circles. In every circle of Hell, Dante meets the souls that are allocated to their respective circle to undergo their eternal punishment. The fifth chapter of this essay will investigate the role of sin in Paradise Lost and La Divina Commedia. In Paradise Lost, Satan’s heroic deeds are actually rooted in sin and the sins that Satan commits make him lose his heroic status. Although Satan’s deeds may be labelled heroic when looking at books I and II, his motives are impure. The most important of these underlying motives are the sins of pride, envy and wrath. It was the sin of pride that led Satan into rebelling against God, thus causing the war in Heaven: Pride forms the beginning of Satan’s ‘heroic’ adventure. However, envy also plays a large role: Satan is envious of Christ as well as Adam and Eve. Quotations of Paradise Lost have been taken from: Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Christopher Ricks. 1968. London: Penguin Group, 1989. Dante uses the order of the seven deadly sins of pride, envy, lust, gluttony, greed, sloth and wrath to structure his Inferno. He keeps a strict order in his Hell, this is because sin disrupts the divine order and those who have sinned have caused chaos in this order. Dante distributes the punishment for the seven deadly sins very neatly over concentric circles, with a systematic increase in wickedness. The souls of the damned are subjected to this order and are allocated according to their sins. Contrastingly, Milton does not follow this medieval list of seven sins. A very relevant reference to sins is the allegory of Satan, Sin and Death as an incestuous family. Satan has a daughter called Sin and together they have a son: Death. Sin is Satan’s first child, and she is brought into the world thanks to Satan’s disobedience to God. The fact that Satan and his daughter Sin have a child called Death, makes death the inevitable consequence of sin. Although Milton perhaps did not intentionally incorporate the seven deadly sins in his work and although pride, envy and wrath are the most important sins of the work, the other four sins of lust, gluttony, greed and sloth can also be found in the poem and will also receive attention in this chapter. Additionally, some attention will be given to another well-known account of sin and Hell from the Romantic period, namely William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The analyses made in the chapters mentioned above will make it possible to answer the question whether or not Satan can be an epic hero. And if he is not an epic hero, can he be regarded as another kind of hero? It is interesting that throughout the centuries, many scholars have shared the opinion that Satan is indeed the hero of the work, while others have strongly opposed this view. This concluding chapter will investigate further how these two opposing views came into existence and will try to give an answer to the question. 2. Background This chapter will provide background information on John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) and Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia (1321). Both works are epics and are widely considered to be masterpieces that are still read today. This chapter will give some general information on epics, as well as the epic in the Renaissance period and why La Divina Commedia and Paradise Lost can be considered as epics. Furthermore, attention will be given to the epic hero. However, first of all we must focus on the authors themselves and their works. It seems likely that Milton when writing his Paradise Lost, was inspired not only by Dante’s vision of Hell, but also by Classical literature. Milton had an exceptionally great knowledge of La Divina Commedia. David Masson states in his Life of Milton, that Milton ‘must have known this great poem better than any other Englishman alive’ and remarks that Milton read the Commedia ‘attentively and reverently. ’ Milton studied the Italian language and during his Cambridge years he widely read in Dante, Petrarch, and other Italian poets. In a letter to Benedett o Buonmattei, the leading Dante-expert of the day, he writes of the depth of his study of Italian literature, especially the works of Petrarch and Dante. Milton even provides an English poetic translation of a few lines from the Inferno in his work Of Reformation. This information and the many similarities between the two works may indicate that Milton was inspired to use the genre of the epic for his work, as applied by Dante and by classical authors before him. Dante finished his Commedia in 1321 and he is considered to be one of the greatest poets of all times. His La Divina Commedia can be regarded as one of the works of art that initiate the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy. 5 The story tells of the character Dante, who travels through the afterlife. The work consists of three different parts, containing Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. The work had quite an impact and it had a wide range of audiences: students read it in grammar school and the work was discussed in the marketplace and even in church. One of the main reasons for this impact is probably the fact that is was written in the vernacular as opposed to many works written in Latin. 6 It was 3 Butler, George F. Giants and Fallen Angels in Dante and Milton: The Commedia and the Gigantomachy in Paradise Lost. Modern Philology. 95. 3 (1998): p. 352. 4 Butler, George F. The Fall of Tydeus and the Failure of Satan: Statius Thebaid, Dantes Commedia, and Miltons Paradise Lost. Comparative Literature Studies. 3. 1-2 (2006): p. 143. 5 Lewis, R. W. B. Dante: a Life. London: Phoenix, 2002: p. 15. 6 Parker, Deborah. Commentary and Ideology: Dante in the Renaissance. Durham: Duke University Press, 1993: pp. 28-31. Boccacio who added the word Divina to the title of the work, stressing the divine meaning it contains. In literature, an epic is a grand narrative poem in maje stic style about the exploits and adventures of a superhuman hero engaged in a quest or some serious endeavour. The hero is distinguished above all others by his strength and courage. The subject-matter of epic includes myth, legend, history, and folk tale. Battles and perilous journeys play a large part, as do gods, the supernatural, and magic; scenes are often set in the Underworld or in Heaven. Certain formal features are conspicuous: the narrator vouches for the truth of his story; there are invocations, elaborate greetings, long speeches, detailed similes, digressions, and the frequent repetition of elements typical of an epic. 7 There is a standard distinction between traditional and literary epics. Traditional epics are works such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, while literary epics were composed in deliberate imitation of the traditional form. Literary epics do not necessarily have to contain all of the epic conventions as the ones mentioned above, as long as it manifests the epic spirit and grandeur in the scale, the scope and the human importance of their subjects. 8 So, works do not have to comply to all the epic conventions in order to be called an epic. It is not difficult to apply the label of an epic to Paradise Lost, since it contains many epic conventions. La Divina Commedia may not contain an epic hero or lengthy descriptions of battles, but it does contain many epic features, such as the epic spirit and grandeur of the scale of the narrative. Furthermore, the subject of the redemption of the human soul is certainly of profound human interest. The Renaissance period shows the revival of art and literature under the influence of classical models, and many literary epics were written in this period, of which La Divina Commedia and Paradise Lost are certainly the most impressive ones. Milton’s Paradise Lost is generally looked upon as the main work of the English Renaissance. The Renaissance is believed to have originated in Florence in the fourteenth century, where there was a revival of interest in classical antiquity. Important figures of that era were Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, but also painters like Giotto. The period from the end of the fifteenth century has become known as the High Renaissance, when several Italian cities began to rival Florence’s leading position. Renaissance thinking spread from the early 7 â€Å"epic†, in: The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ed. M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, (Oxford University Press, 1996). Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. See: www. oxfordreference. com, (16 January 2009). 8 Abrams, M. H. Glossary of Literary Terms. 1971. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999: pp. 77-78. sixteenth century onwards. 9 This influence and revival of classical culture, art and literature is represented in both Paradise Lost and La Divina Commedia, notably in the framework of the setting of the underworld, which is a common literary motif of classical epic literature. Other famous literary examples with the same motif are Hercules’ journey into the underworld to capture Cerberus, Orpheus’ descent into Hades to retrieve his wife, after she had died because of a snake-bite, or Virgil’s Aeneid, in which Aeneas travels into the underworld to meet his father. Inspired by stories such as these, Dante and later Milton wrote their epic poems. Milton had the intention of writing an epic poem on an exalted subject decades before he started writing Paradise Lost in 1658. In his At a vacation Exercise in the College (1628), he already mentioned that he wanted to devote himself to â€Å"singing in the manner of Homer† and he envisioned writing a poem concerning â€Å"wars and heaven under Jupiter†. Notes and drafts from around 1640 contain four drafts of projections of the Fall of man, one of them called Paradise Lost and another Adam unparadiz’d. Milton spent almost twenty years writing controversial prose and political pamphlets and he was a strong supporter of liberty of conscience, human choice and free will, themes also recurring in Paradise Lost. 10 The story itself tells of the fall from heaven of Satan and the other angels who rebelled against God. Milton’s work shows many influences of the Classics and can be classified as an epic. The epic poem Paradise Lost was originally published in ten books, but from 1674 onwards the work consisted of twelve books after the Virgilian model, by splitting books seven and ten. Paradise Lost is the poem Milton is still famous for today. 11 Paradise Lost is seen by many scholars to be one of the most sublime products of the Renaissance and especially as the great epic of that age. 12 Two very important epic conventions which can be found in both the works of Milton and Dante, are the recapitulation of the past and prophecy of the future. 13 In Paradise Lost, the recapitulation of the past takes place in book V where Raphael tells Adam the story of the war in heaven and the Fall of Satan and the other angels. The epic convention of the prophecy can be found in books 11 and 12, where Michael reveals to Adam the future of his descendants. He tells Adam about the Flood: 9 â€Å"Renaissance†, in: The Oxford Reference Online. A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, ed. Elizabeth Knowles, ( Oxford University Press, 2006). Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. See: www. oxfordreference. com, (16 January 2009). 10 Loewenstijn, David. Milton, Paradise Lost. A Student Guide. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004: pp. 10-14. 11 The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. Vol 1. Ed. M. H. Abrams. New York: W. W. Norton Company, 2000: p. 1816. 12 Loewenstijn, David. Milton, Paradise Lost. A Student Guide. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004: p. 16. 13 Bush, Douglas. â€Å"Virgil and Milton†. The Classical Journal. 17. 5 (1952): p. 180. †¦Till God at last Wearied with their iniquities, withdraw His presence from among them, and avert His holy eyes (XII. 106-109) Michael also talks about the journey of the Hebrews: Till by two brethren (those two brethren call Moses and Aaron) sent God to claim His people from enthrallment, they return With glory and spoil back to their promis’d Land (XII. 169-172) These Biblical events that Milton mentions here, have not yet happened, but cast a look into the future. There are many other epic conventions to be found in Paradise Lost. To begin with, the work has a beginning in medias res; the work begins when Satan and the other angels that rebelled against God have already fallen: â€Å" the Poem hastes into the midst of things, presenting Satan with his Angels now fallen into Hell† (I. Argument). Secondly, Milton uses the classical notion of the invocation of the Muse: â€Å"Sing Heaven’ly Muse† (I. 6). Another important epic convention is the elaborate descriptions of battles. We find this in Paradise Lost when Michael tells Adam the story of the War in Heaven: â€Å" when all the Plain / Cover’d with thick embattled Squadrons bright, / Chariots and flaming Arms, and fiery steeds / Reflecting blaze on blaze† (VI. 15-18). Milton has also incorporated epic catalogues, an example of which can be found in Book I, where there is a lengthy description of the angels that fell together with Satan into Hell: â€Å"First Moloch † (I. 392). Furthermore, the notion of supernatural intervention occurs when Christ offers to sacrifice himself for mankind. Paradise Lost contains many epic similes, for example: Angel forms, who lay intranc’t Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strow the Brooks In Vallombrosa, where th’Etrurian shades High overarch’t embow’r; or scatter’d sedge Afloat, when with fierce Winds Orion arm’d Hath vext the Red-Sea Coats, whose waves o’erthrew Busiris and his Memphian Chivalry, While with perfidious hatred they pursu’d The Sojourners of Goshen, who beheld From the safe shore their floating Carcasses And broken Chariot Wheels (I. 301-311) The last significant epic convention to be found in Paradise Lost is the descent into the underworld. Like in Milton’s Paradise Lost, there are many examples of epic conventions to be found in Dante’s La Divina Commedia. The most obvious one is the epic convention of the descent into the underworld: just as in the Aeneid, Dante’s hell consists of circles separated by geographical boundaries. 14 However, there are many more epic conventions Dante makes use of. One of them is the beginning in medias res: â€Å"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita / mi ritrovai per una selva oscura† [Midway in the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wood] (Inferno I. -2). Dante also invokes the muse, as is often done in classical epics: â€Å"O Muse, o alto ingegno, or m’aiutate; / O mente che scrivesti cio ch’io vidi, / Qui si parra la tua nobilitate† [O Muses, O high genius, help me now! O memory that wrote down what I saw, here shall your worthiness appear! ] (Inferno II. 7-9). Furthermore, the work contains three events which can be classified as supernatural interventions. The first one is the moment when Dante encounters three animals on his way: a she-wolf, a leopardess and a lion, hich form an allegory of the temptations of Sin. The second intervention is when Dante meets Virgil, who is to be his guide: â€Å"Mentre ch’i’ rovinava in basso loco, / dinanzi a li occhi mi si fu offerto / Chi per lungo silenzio parea fioco† [While I was ruining down to the depth there appeared before me one who seemed faint through long silence] (Inferno I. 61-63). However, the most important intervention is that of Beatrice: â€Å"Io son Beatrice, che ti faccio andare; / vegno del loco ove tornar disio; / amor mosse che mi fa parlare. † [I am Beatrice who sent you. I come from a place to which I long to return. Love moved me and makes me speak. ] (Inferno II. 70-72). Beatrice is sent to help Dante when he strays from the right path in his life and she wants him to learn the knowledge he needs in order to redeem himself. Beatrice tells Dante that when she was still alive, she was his inspiration and this inspiration kept him on the straight and narrow path of a good Christian life: Quando di carne a spirto era salita E bellezza e virtu cresciuta mera, Fu io a lui men cara e men gradita; 14 Feldherr, Andrew. Putting Dido on the Map: Genre and Geography in Vergil’sUnderworld†. Arethusa. 32. 1 (1999): p. 90. E volse i passi suoi per via non vera, Imagini di ben seguendo false, Che nulla promession rendono intera. [When from the flesh I ascend And beauty and virtue in me increased I was to him less dear and delightful; And into ways untrue he turned his steps, Pursuing false images of good That never any promises fulfil] (Purgatory XXX. 127-132) Beatrice’s death signified the moment that Dante’s life started to go downhill and now she is chosen to turn his life in the right direction once gain, as she had done in life. He was tempted by sin and Beatrice offers Dante a chance to purify and save his soul. Dante’s work contains many elaborate epic similes, an example of which can be found in the description of some damned souls: â€Å"Come le rane innanzi al la nimica / Biscia per l’acqua si dileguan tutte, / Fin ch’a la terra ciascuna s’abbiaca† [As the frogs before their enemy the snakes all vanish through the water, till each cocks itself on the bottom] (Inferno IX. 76-78). Dante also makes use of the epic notion of catalogues. Especially in Canto IV, when Dante and Virgil are in Limbo, we see many of these epic lists: â€Å"Quelli e Omero, poeta sovrano; / L’altro e Orazio satiro che vene; / Ovido e ‘l terzo, e l’ultimo Lucano† [He is Homer, sovereign poet; next is Horace, satirist; Ovid comes third, and Lucan last. ] (Inferno IV. 88-90). All the characters named in this and the other catalogues, are names from the classical period, and hence proper to the epic genre. As well as Milton, Dante’s work casts a look into the future, which is an important epic convention. We find this in Dante’s conversation with Caccio, a Florentine punished in the Inferno. Caccio tells Dante about the future of Florence and the victory of Dante’s adversaries. Dante is able to make these kinds of references to the future, since the story is set in late March of the year 1300, but actually written between 1308 and 1321. Caccio tells Dante: â€Å"Dopo lunga tencione / Verranno al sangue, e la parte selvaggia / Caccera l’altra con molta offesine† [After long contention they will come to blood, and the rustic party will drive out the other with much offence] (Inferno VI. 64-66). He refers here to the May day festivities of 1300, where there was bloodshed between two Guelph factions, the Bianchi and the Neri. In June 1301, the Bianchi gained political control of Florence and banished the Neri from the city. 15 Caccio tells Dante more about this particular situation: â€Å"Poi appresso convien che questa caggia / infra tre soli, e che l’altra sormonti / Con la forza di tal che teste piaggia. † [Then, through the power of one who presently is temporizing, that party is destined to fall within three years, and the other to prevail] (VI. 67-69). Caccio here refers to the fact that the exiled Neri turned to Pope Boniface VIII for help and they managed to regain control of Florence and passed severe sentences against over six hundred Bianchi. Caccio predicts these events to happen within three years. 16 By deliberately setting the story in the past, Dante is able to incorporate such prophesies into the story. It is striking that Dante chooses Virgil, one of the most famous classical authors, to be his guide. Virgil has written a work containing a journey into the underworld as well. In his Aeneid, Virgil tells the story of Aeneas descending into the underworld. The fact that Virgil has already written about such a journey and therefore knows the way makes him the perfect guide. Another possible reason for choosing Virgil is the great admiration that the author Dante has for the poet, which he refers to when they first meet in Canto I: â€Å"Tu se’ lo mio maestro e il mio autore: / Tu se’ solo colui da cui io tolsi / Lo bello stile che m’ha fatto onore. † [You are my master and my author. You alone are he from whom I took the fair style that has done me honor. ] (Inferno I. 85-87). It is clear that La Divina Commedia belongs to the epic genre. However, the one thing that the work is missing, is an epic hero. Dante might be considered to be its hero, but he does not display much heroic behaviour. His main task in the work seems to be describing what he sees as an observer: to keep a traveller’s journal as it were. In the sixteenth century, this lack of a hero caused scepticism in regarding the work as an epic. Others hailed Dante as the best heroic poet, even surpassing Homer. However, as we have seen in this chapter, there are so many ways in which La Divina Commedia can be described as an epic, that scholars nowadays see the work as belonging to this genre. 17 There are two important qualities that enable Milton’s Satan to act as the epic hero of Paradise Lost: freedom and free will. In Milton’s day and age, individualism and liberty became important issues. The notion of freedom and equality often recurs in Paradise Lost, and in most instances this can be linked to Satan. Satan can be described as a free spirit and there seem to be no boundaries to his freedom; even the boundaries of Hell are hardly any 15 Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy: Inferno 2 commentary. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1970: pp. 101-102. 16 Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy: Inferno 2 commentary. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1970: p. 02. 17 Steadman, John. â€Å"Milton and Mazzoni: the Genre of the Divina Commedia†. The Huntington Library Quarterly. 23. 2 (1960): p. 108. restriction for him. But most of all, it is this notion of a new sort of freedom which enables Satan to become the hero of Paradise Lost: â€Å"Here at least / we shall be free† (I. 258-9). For Satan this means that he i s able to start his rebellion in Heaven and it gives him the opportunity to start his quest to cause the Fall of Adam and Eve. The theme of free will is also important. We see that in Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve are meant to make mainly good choices. Contrastingly, free will makes that Satan is only able to make bad choices. When taking into consideration only books I and II of the work, what we see is a rebel who fought for freedom: for himself and his peers. However, as the story continues, this heroic status of Satan becomes less likely. This chapter has shown that both La Divina Commedia and Paradise Lost can be regarded as belonging to the epic genre. Since Milton chose the epic as the structure to tell the tale of the War in Heaven and the Fall of Adam and Eve, one can validly bestow the title of ‘hero’ on Milton’s Satan. 8 However, this view is certainly not shared by all critics: Satan is by no means universally regarded as the hero of Paradise Lost. There is no easy answer to the question as to whether or not Satan deserves that title. 18 Steadman, John. â€Å"The Idea of Satan as the Hero of ‘Paradise Lost’. † Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 120. 4 (1976): p. 22 5. 3. Satan Both La Divina Commedia and Paradise Lost are widel

5 TEDx Videos Can Inspire You to Write Your Successful Philosophy Personal Statement

5 TEDx Videos Can Inspire You to Write Your Successful Philosophy Personal Statement 5 TEDx Videos Can Inspire You to Write Your Successful Philosophy Personal Statement Most of us like to indulge in philosophizing with regard to different issues principles of human behavior, social interaction, cultural influences and so on. Someone can decide to take it a step further to get a degree in Philosophy. Want to connect your life with one of the oldest academic discipline in the world? Great! For example, the students from the Lehigh University don’t regret studying Philosophy. There are many benefits from this subject critical thinking skills, opinion expressing skills, effective writing skills. According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018: Philosophy, top universities in America is the University of Pittsburgh and in the UK the University of Oxford. Want to be admitted to them? 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Each talk offers a unique insight into various crucial global topics that can be inspirational for you. ‘Your Elusive Creative Genius’ by Elizabeth Gilbert. The author of the bestseller â€Å"Eat, Pray, Love† presents the relationship between humans and the creative mystery a genius. So, the idea is as follows: all of us have a genius inside. Use this video to highlight in your personal statement that you have that inner potential that makes you worthy of joining the faculty of Philosophy . ‘The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers’ by Adam Grant. An organizational psychologist dedicates the video topic to the exploration of the fundamentals of success that are applied by people who are considered to think originally. Do you know that many great originals in history were procrastinators? However, it is a virtue for creativity, not productivity. Start writing your personal statement after you watch this video, not later. Use Adam’s guidelines to write an original and unique piece that will grab admissions staff’s attention. â€Å"The Puzzle of Personality† by Brian Little. The Cambridge professor explore the different types of contemporary personality. You may be open to experience or stands for conscientiousness. Allow your personality to shine through in your personal statement by following Little’s explanations. â€Å"Success, Failure and the Drive to Keep Creating† by Elizabeth Gilbert. According to the speaker, the way we experience great failure differ from the way we experience great success. So, it’s essential to tune in to the right wave-length. Watch this video and determine what it is your best place you can return each time to keep creating what you love. â€Å"How to See Past Your Own Perspective and Find Truth† by Michael Patrick Lynch. The philosopher suggests the idea that the more information a person absorbs, the more difficult it can be to tell the difference between whats true and whats fake. The understanding of the facts as they are involves more than just downloading the information from the Internet. See this video and realize what you need to do for writing a personal statement. As a high school student, these videos act as introductory mediums for the subject and offer real-life experiences and examples that you can use in your statement. Granted, you are required to write unique and honest personal experiences, motivations and abilities but you can use key lessons taught in TED videos as guiding tools. The following is a list of ideas for your philosophy personal statement based on TED videos: Analyze where your ideas as a future philosopher come from and how they can influence your research in university. Use the talk on ‘how we make choices’ as a guideline to describe how you made the choice to pursue Philosophy. Explore who you are and explain how you as an individual will contribute to the program and Philosophy in general. When writing your personal statement, it is important to show your passion for the subject as opposed to simply mentioning it. What does admissions committee look for? It is a statement that is honest, unique and one that shows a commitment to Philosophy as more than just a university major. Get the best Philosophy personal statements written by our professionals. Supply yourself with a good example of writing that contributes surely to your success.

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Out line a plan to work with one client - Assignment Example The dependent variable can be withdrawn or varied as is necessary to the study. Single research design is the most applicable because it provides a framework for one on one work with a single client. Single research design focuses only on a single subject as the name suggests. As an alternative to group research design, single system design is structured differently in such a way that it can easily adapt to social work practice. As a result, it is the most accurate method of research on interventions and other social work practices (Royse, 2009). The process of single-system design entails identifying target problems, undertaking pre-intervention measures, providing the intervention, taking additional measures and evaluating the efficacy of the intervention. Multiple base designs will ensure that the client does not reverse to the old behaviors during the withdrawal phase. As the name suggests, multiple baseline designs introduces the baselines in sequence. For instance, the baseline for self-efficacy may last for four sessions while the baseline for parenting skills may last for seven sessions. These baseline sessions may overlap, allowing the researcher to determine the behaviors influenced by the intervention while controlling for the external events. On the other hand, Single-system design is the best choice since it focuses on the individual and not a group. Contrary to group design, single system is concerned with whether an intervention works for the client while the group design is concerned with the average change. It delivers a framework that allows the practitioner to asses and specifies the client’s goals, implement interventions, safely terminate with the client and perform follow up activities. SSD was created speci fically to address social work practice that group designs could not. As such, it is most suited for social practitioners especially in evaluations of efficacy of their programs with

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Main Forum Used for class discussion, Discussion Questions, and to reply to discussion questions Only instructor posts new threads Under Questions thread for each week, post general questions that could benefit the entire class regarding an assignment Use a professional tone Chat Room. students can create new threads or messages and reply to other messages discussion about things not related to an assignment or discussion question use a more casual tone Course Materials Forum only instructors can post in this forum syllabus, weekly assignments, and course information is posted here reading links or other materials will be posted here Individual Forum private messages between me and my instructor about my grade or specific questions about my assignment use profession communication. Keeping my audience in mind allows me to use the correct tone and wording when communicating with others in writing. 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Many different resources are available under the Library tab: Technological Tools Available University Library Library services Research/peer reviewed material Ask a librarian Useful links Reference and citation generator APA information Grammar and writing guides Center for Writing Excellence Writing and style guidelines Tutorials and guides Submit a paper for review WritePoint Plagiarism Checker. Center for Mathematics Excellence Building math confidence Live tutoring Phoenix Career Services Job Market Research Explore jobs in particular geographical areas Search jobs by type of work, employer, or degrees Career plan Career Interests Profiler Competencies Work culture preferences Reasoning aptitude Resume builder Upload current resume Create new resume Import resume from LinkedIn Career resources Exploring careers Career profile videos Executing your job search Job search tips Advice for employees looking to change careers Marketing yourself Interviewing Interview Preparation video  Resumes and Cover Letters Sample resumes and cover letters Managing your Career Employment partners More resources are available, but these are ones I can see myself using. In the Center for Writing Excellence, the most useful resources are WritePoint, Plagiarism Checker, and the resource and citation generator. The features of Phoenix Career Services will be useful when looking for a job, creating a resume, or needing career advice. Conducting research using the University Library can save time since all of the items have already been verified and are from reliable resources. Tutoring and activities to refresh my math skills prior to taking a math class are available in the Center for Mathematics Excellence. Setting and Achieving Goals The Phoenix Career Services Career Plan home page has a list of my long-term goals with due dates. To meet those goals, short-term goals must be met, and this page must be reviewed often and necessary changes made in order to keep realistic deadlines. Using the SMART goals system: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Frame; will ensure my goals are things that will be achieved. Creating exact goals with specific details, measurable progress, attainability, relevance, and a time frame will help reach my goals. (Chapter 4, Page 102, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Obstacles may force me to reevaluate my goal deadlines to verify they are still attainable. Long-term goals can be flexible, but should never vanish completely. A degree from University of Phoenix will allow me many opportunities when looking for a job. Upholding Academic Honesty To uphold academic honesty I need to review the Student Code of Academic Integrity at least once a year or if there are changes to it. A violation of the Student Code of Academic Integrity could have severe consequences including expulsion from school, depending on the severity of the dishonest action. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, double-dipping or dovetailing, fabrication of information, unauthorized assistance, copyright infringement, misrepresentation, and collusion are all academically dishonest. (University of Phoenix, 2011) I can avoid academic dishonesty by citing every resource I use, submitting my work to the Plagiarism Checker, and making sure my work is no more than 20% copied information. Managing Time Wisely Awareness of how much time is spent on different activities throughout the day and adjusting those activities accordingly, can allow me to effectively manage my time. Keeping a diary of activities for a couple of days every few months will allow me see how much time is spent doing certain activities, and can help me shift time from one activity to another. Caring for my family will always be my first priority. Since I am not working outside of the home, school is my second priority. Allowing myself time to de-stress and relax is important, but needs to be kept to a minimum so I am not spending hours on end playing games or reading Facebook. Fostering Reading Comprehension and Retention Using the SQ3R method in all of my academic reading assignments will enhance my reading comprehension. (Chapter 7, Page 191, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) â€Å"SQ3R is an acronym for survey, question, read, recite, and review. † (Chapter 7, Page 190, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Surveying reading assignments allows me to look for bold words and headings which I can write my questions about. (Chapter 7, Pages 191-192, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Finding the main idea of what I am reading, prioritizing key points, and highlighting information that stands out will help during the review phase. (Chapter 7, Page 196, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Reciting the answers to the questions I raised will help me commit the information to memory. (Chapter 7, Page 197, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Reviewing my questions and answers, summarizing the highlighted portions, and quizzing myself on different aspects of the material during the review phase will also be helpful. (Chapter 7, Page 198, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Another study technique is using flashcards so I can memorize important information, especially vocabulary words or historical dates. Using study skill that work with my multiple intelligences can be helpful. Moving around while reviewing flashcards, listening to music while reading, or cutting and pasting material I have read into documents with similar ideas could all be advantageous to my studying skills. (Chapter 7, Page 204, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) When highlighting I should avoid over marking and use a regular pen or pencil instead of a highlighter. (Chapter 7, Page 205, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Making notes in the margins will help master content. (Chapter 7, Page 206, Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011) Adapting Work Habits to Fit My Personality Located in the Phoenix Career Services tab on the Library page are items to survey different areas of my personality: career interests, personal competencies, work culture preferences, and reasoning aptitude. Knowledge of my personal competencies can be advantageous in all aspects of my life. I am one to follow instructions, to cooperate, and to adhere to values. University of Phoenix’s My Career Plan page defines following directions as â€Å"appropriately follows instructions from others without unnecessarily challenging authority; follows procedures and policies; keeps to schedules; arrives punctually for work and meetings; demonstrates commitment to the organization; complies with legal obligations and safety requirements of the role. â€Å" (University of Phoenix, 2013) I do not like to be late no matter what. I thrive when there are policies, procedures and schedules to follow. I do what I am asked, remain organized, and confirm compliance with any laws when necessary. Defined on University of Phoenix’s My Career Plan someone who cooperates â€Å"shows respect for the views and contributions of other team members; shows empathy; listens, supports and cares for others; consults others and shares information and expertise with them; builds team spirit and reconciles conflict; adapts to the team and fits in well. † (University of Phoenix, 2013) Working as a team where I can share information with others respectfully, support each other’s ideas and expertise, and have an environment that is well designed with all the necessary resources in order for me to do my job well are also part of my personality. (University of Phoenix, 2013) Adhering to values means I do not change what I believe in or who I am, but University of Phoenix’s My Career Plan defines adhering to values as â€Å"upholds ethics and values; demonstrates integrity; promotes and defends equal opportunities, builds diverse teams; encourages organizational and individual responsibility towards the community and the environment. † (University of Phoenix, 2013) My reasoning aptitude page says, â€Å"Your profile shows you could work well in careers that use both cognitive abilities and practical skills. You may be attracted to practical work or to analytical work, or to careers that allows you to combine practical skills and thinking. † (University of Phoenix, 2013) I love having challenges in my career, and learning new skills or trying new tasks. Conclusion This Survival Guide provides information for continued success throughout my academic career at University of Phoenix. Keeping my goals up-to-date with deadlines will ensure that I meet my long-term goals, and do not lose sight of what I have set out to accomplish. I will review my goals and this guide often as a reminder of everything available to me for my success. References Appendix D. (2013). University of Phoenix: Associate Level Material, Version 10(Unknown), , 1. Carter, C. , Bishop, J. , Kravits, S. L. (2011). Keys to Effective Learning: Study Skills and Habits for Success (6th ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson. University of Phoenix. (2011). Student Code of Academic Integrity. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/studentdocuments/uophx/academic_integrity. htm University of Phoenix. (2013). Phoenix Career Services: My Career Plan: Career Competencies. Retrieved from.

An Analysis of Poetic Justice in Macbeth

An Analysis of Poetic Justice in Macbeth The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a story about a man named Macbeth and his quest for power. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a brave and noble soldier, who is crowned as Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan. After becoming Thane of Cawdor he and Banquo come across three witches who give them each three predictions. The witches predict that Macbeth will become the Thane of Glamis, the thane of Cawdor and then King. At first these predictions mean nothing to Banquo and Macbeth, but then Macbeth starts thinking that if the witches were right about one prophecy, then it must be true that he will become King. This prophecy mixed with the influence of his wife, lead him to kill King Duncan. After Macbeth became King, Macduff and Banquo have suspicions that it was Macbeth who slayed Duncan. Macbeth kills Banquo and tries to kill Macduff to avoid being caught, unfortunately Macduff has already assembled an army to kill Macbeth. When the army reaches Macbeth, Macduff figh ts him and kills him. With Macbeth gone, Malcolm rightfully becomes King of Scotland. The conclusion of Macbeth contains a high degree of poetic justice because of the slaying of Macbeth, Macduff being the man to slay Macbeth, Malcolm becoming King of Scotland and Lady Macbeth committing suicide. In the beginning of the story we get a false impression of Macbeth, because we see him as a brave, loyal and trusted soldier. After he kills King Duncan, we see Macbeth as an evil, greedy and power-hungry. Macbeth continues his murderous ways when he kills Banquo and tries to kill Fleance so they couldnt be his successor as King. Then Macbeth kills Macduffs family, because he knows hat Macduff has a suspicion that he killed King Duncan. Macbeth is truly a murderer that has gotten away with everything he has done. Macbeth realizes that he has changed and cant go back: â€Å" I am in blood. Steppd in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go oer.† (3.4. 136-138). Poetic justice is established when Macbeth is slain, because he had killed many people, all of which were innocent and had done nothing wrong to Macbeth. He finally gets proper justice when Macduff kills him for his actions throughout the play. Macduff is the Thane of Fife and is one of the first people to suspect that Macbeth killed King Duncan. Macbeth is aware that Macduff suspects him as the murderer, so he sends out men to kill him. When Macbeths men get to Macduffs castle he is not there, but his family is and the men kill Macduffs family. Macduff learns that his family has been killed: â€Å" All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What all my pretty chickens, and their dam at one fell swoop?† (4.3.216-218). This shows the love that Macduff had for his family and how sad he became when he knew he would never see them again. Poetic justice is established when Macduff slays Macbeth because he gets justice for what Macbeth did to his family by killing the man who made him lose his whole family which he cared for so much. Malcolm is the eldest son of king Duncan and the rightful heir to his throne. When King Duncan is killed, Malcolm was the next in line and should have became king, but instead he fled to England out of fear of being suspected as his fathers murderer. Since Malcolm and his younger brother Donalbain fled, there was no one to take the throne other than Macbeth. Poetic justice occurs when Malcolm becomes King of Scotland because he was supposed to be King since King Duncans death but instead Macbeth becomes king. Malcolm gets his poetic justice when he finally gets what he rightfully deserved since his father died. Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth and is an influencing factor in Macbeths decision to kill King Duncan. Without her influence Macbeth may not have killed King Duncan. It was her influence that made her feel guilty, because she knew she was just as much a part of the murder as Macbeth was. This guilt leads her to start sleepwalking, where she attempts to wash blood off her hands during her sleep. Although the play never mentions why she committed suicide it is most likely that it was because she couldnt live with the guilt she felt. Poetic justice occurs when Lady Macbeth commits suicide because she was a big part of the murder of King Duncan and gets what she deserved when she kills herself because of her own guilt. She deserved to die because of what she did to influence Macbeth into killing King Duncan. In conclusion, the ending of the play Macbeth provides a high degree o Poetic Justice as a result of

Apa Essay on Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a demeaning practice, one that constitutes a profound affront to the dignity of the employees forced to endure it. By requiring an employee to contend with unwelcome sexual actions or explicit sexual demands, sexual harassment in the workplace attacks the dignity and self-respect of the victim both as an employee and as a human being. Sexual harassment is well defined as an unwelcome sexual request for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. In many countries, sexual harassment is considered a form of sexual abuse and employment discrimination. Sexual harassment is most prevalent is organizations both professional and academic, though it can occur almost anywhere. Unfortunately, sexual harassment is a complicated issue that confronts employers and employees far too often in the workplace. It causes confusion and uncertainty which interferes with a productive working environment. Sexual harassment interferes with individuals work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment results in poor performance and lack of motivation. Policies and facts Organizations should have a policy that will not cause any confusion. Men and women were using the same word to describe different behaviors may contribute to the continued existence of sexual harassment. But when a man thinks that sexual harassment only comes from a supervisor, he may feel free to make sexual comments to a female coworker. The female coworker is likely to see the sexual comments as a quest for power and label it as sexual harassment. There are facts that men are considerably less threatened by behaviors that women found harassing. They also found that men and were threatened by different things such as, whereas women were more threatened by behaviors that emphasized their sub ordinance, men were more bothered by behaviors that threatened their feeling of dominance. Sexual pressure was found by the most threatening behavior to men, and they felt threatened by behavior that had not been identified as threatening for females. Quid pro quo harassment occurs â€Å"when submission to or rejection of such unwelcome sexual conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual†. Hostile environment harassment, on the other hand, occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct causes the environment to become hostile, intimidating, or offensive, and unreasonably nterferes with an employee's or student's work. Quid pro quo harassment occurs where employment decisions or expectations are based on an employee’s willingness to grant or deny sexual favors; whereas a hostile environment is created where verbal or non-verbal behavior in the workplace that focuses on the sexuality of another person or occurs because of the person’s gender, a unwanted or unwelcome, and is severe or pervasive enough to affect th e person’s work environment. Many hostile environment harassment claims have nothing to do with speech, for instance when a harassment claim is based only on offensive physical touching or vandalism or discriminatory job assignments which have generally been seen as â€Å"harassment† rather than discrimination. When harassment claim it is based on generally unprotected speech such as threats or fighting words or slander. Factors contributing to determination in much time victims are the men and women tend to have a victim mentality to begin with. Bullying† is defined as repeated less favorable treatment of a staff member by another person or others which is considered unreasonable and inappropriate. It includes behavior which intimidates, offends, degrades, humiliates, undermines or threatens. Bullying may take place in private or in front of others. Whether or not the person responsible for the behavior intends to harm, the effect of the behavior is harmful. A single incident of bullying behavior i s unacceptable workplace behavior and should not be ignored or condoned. Bullying or other unacceptable behavior may also be a form of unlawful discrimination or harassment. Severe, â€Å"pervasive,† â€Å"hostile and â€Å"abusive† are mushy terms, as courts have specifically acknowledged. I'm not completely sure what it means to say that people have to say it’s bizarre. They might just have had a different notion of how offensive something must be to be â€Å"severe,† or how frequent it must be to be â€Å"pervasive. †Ã‚   Certainly courts have taken very different views of what these terms mean. Men Working or jokes about sexually graphic road signs to be â€Å"severe† or â€Å"pervasive† enough to create a hostile environment; but obviously other people, who probably thought themselves to be quite reasonable, have disagreed. When we judge a rule, we can't judge it simply by how we would apply it ourselves, or by the best-case scenario of how it could be applied. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Knabe v Boury that companies must take action that is reasonably calculated to prevent harassment (â€Å"Facts Sheet† 2001). However, the responsibility also falls on victims to do their part to prevent harassment. This does not mean that the actual harassment is the fault of the victim, but rather that the victim has certain responsibilities in how they handle and respond to incidents of sexual harassment. These responsibilities include reporting the incident or incidents through proper channels as well as cooperating with investigations of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in the workplace presents an ongoing and growing risk to businesses operating in the United States. Today, the time is right for businesses to begin to manage their risk in this area more wisely. Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace requires a considerable investment of time and personnel. In the end, however, these costs will be offset by significant savings in legal fees and health-care costs. Companies will also benefit from increased worker productivity. From a purely business perspective, a company only stands to gain if it takes a no-nonsense, hard-line position on sexual harassment. Not only is it the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. Reference American Psychological Association. Sexual Harassment Myths and Realities. Retrieved from http://all. net/games/sex/harass. html Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. (2002). Facts About Sexual Harassment. Retrieved from http://www. eeoc. gov/facts/fs-sex. html Sexual Harassment. (n. d. ). In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/sexual%2Bharassment Shockwaves: The Global Impact of Sexual Harassment, Susan L. Webb, New York 1994. Retrieve from http://www1. umn. edu/humanrts/svaw/harassment/explore/1whatis. htm

Principles of managing information and producing documents Essay

Assessment You should use this file to complete your Assessment. The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Please note that this Assessment document has 5 pages and is made up of 4 Sections. Name: Sylvia Pratt Section 1 – Understand the purpose of information technology in a business environment 1. In relation to your current business environment (or one that you are familiar with), identify at least two different types of information technology that may be used when completing work tasks. The two different information technologies used are: 1. Spreadsheet 2. Word Processing 2. What are the benefits to businesses (and others) of using information technology for doing work tasks? Spreadsheet provides accurate calculation Section 2 – Understand how to manage electronic and paper-based information 1. Explain the purpose of agreeing objectives and deadlines when researching information. If possible, refer to specific examples from research tasks you have worked on to support your answer. 2. Identify the different ways of researching, organising and reporting information. 3a) For your own organisation (or one you know well), describe the procedures that need to be followed when archiving, retrieving and deleting information. Your answer should cover procedures for both electronic and paper-based information. 3b) When following the procedures outlined in Question 3a above, are there any legal requirements to consider? 4. Why is confidentiality critical when managing information? Section 3 – Understand the purpose of producing documents that are fit for purpose 1. Identify at least two reasons for producing documents that are fit for purpose. 2. Use the table below to describe some of the different types and styles of documents that are produced in a business environment, and then explain when these different options may be used. Documents When they are used Section 4 – Know the procedures to be followed when producing documents 1. In most organisations, time is taken to agree the purpose, content, layout, quality standards and deadlines for the production of documents. What are the reasons for doing this level of planning? 2. Businesses will spend time checking finished documents for accuracy and correctness. a) How is this done? b) Why is this done? 3. Explain the purpose of following confidentiality and data protection procedures when preparing documents. 4. In business environments, there is often a requirement to use notes as the basis for text and documents. a) Compare the different types of documents that can be produced from notes and include a description of the format of each document. b) Explain the procedures to be followed when preparing text from notes. Once you have completed all 4 Sections of this Assessment, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your work to your tutor for marking.

Work Smarter 2.0

Work Smarter 2.0 If you are serious about taking your writing to the next level in 2014, no doubt youve taken steps to maximize your efficiency. After all, time is money, and as Zig Ziglar said, â€Å"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have 24-hour days.† In the technological age, the writer is faced with a bewildering array of websites, applications, programs and tools, which all proclaim to make the process of writing or researching easier. But which ones really work? And how? 1: rescuetime.com This is most obvious place to start, an application which runs continuously in the background on your computer, tracking and logging the time you spend on different websites, or engaged in other online activities. It then gives you a report, allowing you to see where you really spend your time! 2: https://unroll.me/ A large portion of any writers day is spent wading through junk mail. This is a time-saving program that allows you to bundle up all your subscriptions into one email and unsubscribe at a click, leaving you with a daily dose of just the good stuff. 3: boomeranggmail.com/ We all forget to reply to the occasional email, sometimes losing out on a potential sale in the process. This little gem helps ensure that never happens again. It enables you organize your inbox, manage your correspondence, and set reminders. Great tool when dealing with people in different time zones. 4: alexa.com/ Many writers now write guest blogs to help build their platform. But with so many websites and blogs scrambling for content, how do you know which ones are worth investing your time in? This tool bar allows you to instantly see how many hits a site gets worldwide, and therefore gauge how popular it is in real terms. 5: http://evernote.com/ This productivity tool takes all your notes and ideas, in whatever form they may come, and collates them in one place at the touch of a button. It even records your meetings and interviews, and lets you share the files with friends or clients. 6: focusboosterapp.com/ Procrastination is the enemy of every writer. This simple desktop and web application built around a timer is specifically designed to block out any distractions and enhance your concentration levels when your back is against the wall. 7: http://mind42.com/ When used correctly, mindmapping can be a very effective technique for improving productivity. This is one of the best free apps available, helping you get more organized 8: http://getpocket.com/ Its all too easy to get distracted 9: launchy.net/ This wonderful little tool allows you to launch the files and documents you are currently working on and open selected folders and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes, saving you from having to wade through endless start menus. Its not easy being a freelance writer. Sometimes life gets in the way. But Zig Ziglar is right: We all have the same 24-hours in a day. Its how we use them that counts. Combine some of these tools with a healthy dose of dedication to make 2014 your most successful year yet.

Yahoo Corporation is a Technological Company

Yahoo Corporation is a Technological Company Yahoo Corporation is a Technological Company Yahoo Corporation is a technological company involved in innovative technologies to help mobilize resources and create opportunities around the world. It has formed various partnerships and supports a number of projects around the world through training and technological access. It basically deals with web hosting. It earns its profits through advertisements by various companies and providing internet connectivity. The company released its financial statements for the period up to 30th September 2011. These included its balance sheet, income statement and its cash flow statement. Comparing these with the financial statements of the previous financial year (the year ended 30th December 2010); there has been a significant increase in the profit margins and investment levels. The company is in a good liquid position; it is able to meet its short term and long term obligations as and when they fall due. Considering its current ratio which is given by: total current assets divided by its total current liabilities; (3404.59/1201.59 = 2.83), this implies that Yahoos assets of the value $2.83 are being used to meet its $1.00 of its current liabilities. It is in a position to meet quickly its current liabilities at a very comfortable position since it s able to convert its current assets quickly into cash (its quick ratio is given by its total current assets less inventory, divided by total current liabilities). Another evidence of good liquidity position is the, fact that, its debt to equity ratio is not below 1. The company is able to leverage its debt against the capital employed by its owners by ensuring that, the liabilities of the company do not exceed the net worth of the capital employed. This is advantageous to the company as its creditors do not have more stakes in the company than the shareholders. The 0.17 debt to equity ratio implies that $0.17 of debt and $1.00 of equity is being employed to meet its obligations. Altman Z score measures the physical fitness of the company. The Z-score for Microsoft is 2.73 given by: Given the companys Z score to be 2.23, this implies that that company is not on the safe side and should exercise precaution when dealing with debt. It should ensure that the amount of companys debt is kept at very low levels as possible to avoid chances of the company going bankrupt with years of its operation since the last date of preparation of its financial statements The company has made good amounts of profit in the previous financial year Out of the assets employed in its assets employed in its operations it makes a 34% return on the assets. This is given by the net assets divided by average total assets (293.29/857.39). This is an indication that the company is applying its assets to good and productive use. The owners capital invested in the company is applying its assets to good and productive use. The owners capital invested in the company is also being put into good use as there is an increase in its return from 2.67% to 3% in the year up to 30th September, 2011. The company makes $0.34 cents on every $ 1.00 sale they make. This is a good profitability level and the company should stay in business while at the same time looking for the other avenues to increase its profits. Change in strategy through of new products can be considered. Still the company can increase its profitability level by increasing its assets and ensuring they are being used to their maximum capacity. Good maintenance should also be part of i ts strategy to increase profitability. In terms of efficiency, the company can be rated at 7 points given a rating scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most efficient. It has been able to rotate its inventory in sales 6 times in the given fiscal year. This implies that there is high demand of the companys products and ensure that it delivery is made on time to ensure that they retain their customers for the goods sold. 15% of the total cost of goods is being funded by its suppliers. This is the accounts payable to sales ratio which is calculated by dividing the total amount payable in the books by the net sales multiplying by 100% (131.47/857.39). Comparing the above figures to those of the previous financial period (December 2010), there has been an increase in funding from the accounts payable. However, training programs should be devised to ensure an improvement in the efficiency of the companys management. The products should be manufactured only when the customer makes orders as this will help reduce the cost of the sales by eliminating/reducing the storage costs to be incurred by the company. The proportion of the companys debt to its equity is at 0.17 (debt/equity =2067.49/12460.11) this implies that there is $0.17 debt for every $1.00 equity. This amount should be reduces to a lower level to ensure that the share holders have more stakes in the company than its creditors. The company is to apply an approach which reduces the total amount of debt generally and instead fund most of its projects and activities through owners capital. This will reduce the interest expense and will have an incremental effect on the basic earning per share and hence increased rating in the stock exchange mortal. In conclusion, the company generally is at a good financial position It is highly liquid, very profitable and its capital structure is favorable to the shareholders. However this should be improved by reducing the debt to equity ratio. The Z score though indicates that the company is not at a better position, it needs to work on its financing strategies to reduce its chances of going bankrupt in the coming years of operation. It needs to take its Z score value to 3 and above.