Civilization history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Civilization history - Essay Example How would her rule be different in the modern world? The term ‘absolutism’ indicates the absolute monarchical power enjoyed by the rulers during the 17th and 18th century. The main features of absolutism are the ending of feudal partitioning, consolidation of power with the monarch, increase in state power, unification of state laws, and a fall in the influence of Church and nobles on the rulers. Moreover, absolutism is marked by the existence of ideologies that justified the absolute power of monarchs. On the other hand, ‘constitutionalism’ refers to the principle that the government derives its power from the people; and hence, is limited by a body of fundamental laws. So, constitutionalism argues that government is not free to do anything as its power is limited. Instead, it is bound to follow the rules and procedures which are set out in the constitutional law of the community. According to Birn, one can say that while absolutism is based on the concept of the absolute power of the ruler, constitutionalis m believes in the balance of power between government power and the rights of people1. Absolutism in Europe tried to ensure order by developing both philosophical and secular ideologies that support the absolute power of the monarch. Some examples are the divine right theory of Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704) and the Leviathan from Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). The rulers took all the decisions in absolutism and all the decisions came from the ruler. Also, the ruler ensured control over religion and economy. Another important feature was the clear class distinctions. On the other hand, the methods adopted by constitutionalism were entirely different. As constitutionalism took birth, it replaced the absolute power policy by a rule by law. In addition, the concept of social contract arose as the very basis of government. Thus, the rules developed are the rules that are

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

History - Essay Example This paper aims to explore a period in history that radically transformed the manner by which society viewed the world. The Renaissance and Humanism The Renaissance Period started in Northern Italy during the 14th century and scattered all over Europe during the late 15th century (Alchin, â€Å"Renaissance Period†). Herein, a new kind of thinking shifted the culture and thought of the Europeans in a totally different light. Indeed, this is why it is called the renaissance, for renaissance means â€Å"rebirth† or a new beginning. In this period, a movement, called Humanism dominated the scene. Humanism â€Å"is the term generally applied to the predominant social philosophy and intellectual and literary currents of the period from 1400 to 1650† (Kreis â€Å"Renaissance Humanism†). Herein, humanists contributed to the rebirth of scholarship, literature and art through a general emancipation of the individual. â€Å"The Renaissance passion for what was human and the discovery or rediscovery of this same inclination in the classical world we today call humanism† (Kreis, â€Å"The Medieval Synthesis†). Its emergence was a result and reaction towards the medieval period, i.e. The Middle Ages. During the middle ages, Christianity began to globalize, and along with it were challenges. One major challenge was the development of human reason. This was characterized by man’s capacity to rationalize. The Church wanted to explain its teachings through faith alone. Thus, making reason a threat. To compensate for this, Humanist thinkers sought to reconcile religion and science, for according to the Church, they have one common factor, i.e. they both led to a single truth: â€Å"God exists† (Kreis, 2009b, n.p.). Furthermore, during the Middle Ages, the dominant view was that of geocentricism. Since the earth was known to be the center of the universe, human beings were made to feel central above all else. It is this view that the Church accepted and advocated. It was not until a major breakthrough by Nicolaus Copernicus that initiated the first and final break from religious dogma. Scientific Revolution and The Enlightenment Herein is the birth of modern science. Since the time of the publication of Copernicus’ On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543), religious authorities and teachings were attacked and questioned. In what ways did this revolution affect the previous worldview? The greatest impact was on how people thought and believed. Due to the rise of modern scientific methods, the geocentric view of the universe was replaced with the new heliocentric theory, which made the sun as the center of the universe. Religion was forced to step down as the source of truth along with the decline of the authority of the Church. Not only did the power of religious authorities decline, so was the nature of human knowledge. â€Å"This in turn raised questions about the traditional Human Ete rnal Verities, i.e. how humans understood themselves in relation to 'God, Nature, and Man'† (â€Å"Hatch,† n.d., n.p.). Science was slowly overpowering the powerful image of God. â€Å"Science is faith. And the Gospel of that faith was written by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein and others† (â€Å"Kreis,† 2009a, n.p.). The foundation of religion is faith, while science stems from human reason, i.e. the capacity of human beings to think. The former hindered humanity’

PESTEL Analysis of McDonalds Food Industry PEST Example

PESTEL Analysis of McDonalds Food Industry PEST Example Introduction McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain in the world. There are approximately 35,000 McDonald’s stores across 119 countries, and they jointly serve around 68 million customers a year (McDonald’s, 2014). Each McDonald’s is either run as a franchise, or by the McDonald’s Corporation itself in the UK, approximately 65% of McDonald’s restaurants are run as a franchise, and the remaining 35% are run by McDonald’s themselves. There is a relatively stringent application process involved in becoming a McDonald’s franchisee – McDonald’s themselves lists some of the requirements, including:a high level of integrity, business experience, experience within the food industry, the time and ability to complete a minimum of nine months franchisee training, a full time commitment to the opportunity, and a high level of investor capital (McDonald’s, 2014b). Such commitment to ensuring the strength and commitment of their franchisees has perhaps contributed to the strength of the McDonald’s brand, which is among the world’s best-recognised and well-regarded, particularly in the fast food market (Moskowitz, 2014) This essay will examine the current business environment McDonald’s operates in through a PESTEL analysis, to examine the general external business environment and the specific industry factors that may affect the business. The results of this essay can then be used as the background for a SWOT analysis to highlight the specific strengths and weaknesses of the McDonald’s business model and its potential future opportunities and threat, which should help to determine the best strategic direction for McDonald’s to take in the coming years. PESTEL Analysis A PESTEL analysis examines the external business environment facing a firm in 6 main areas; Political factor, Economic factors, Sociological factors, Technological factors, Environmental factors and Legal factors. Though a single organisation is normally unable to directly affect the external factors facing it, a conglomeration of companies can exert some pressure on these factors, particularly any political factors through the intelligent use of political lobbying. Proper understanding of these factors allows the organisation to highlight areas of business opportunity when combined with proper understanding of the business’ strengths, and also potential threats to the business when combined with a proper understanding of the firm’s weaknesses (Baines et al, 2011). Thus, for effective strategic planning, analysis of the external factors is the most important step before performing an analysis of the business’ intrinsic strengths and weaknesses through a SWOT analysis. Political The fast food industry is often a target for government initiatives aimed at improving health and reducing obesity, particularly in European countries. In 2003, after the publication of a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) on the link between general levels of salt intake among the UK population and heart disease, the UK government introduced initiatives to reduce the amount of salt in many foodstuffs, including many products within the fast food industry in general, and McDonald’s in particular. In response, McDonald’s reduced the overall salt content of its UK menu by around 14% (Food Standards Agency, 2005). In Germany, a recent food labelling initiative required all fast food restaurants to provide clear indications of a number of nutritional factors for each of their meals, including salt and sugar levels, calorie content, saturated and unsaturated fat levels, and a traffic-light label indicating the overall level of healthiness, with green indicating both low calorie and low fat options, and red indicating high calorie, high fat options (Hurt et al, 2010). Similar initiatives have been implemented in the UK, France and the Netherlands, though reports indicate that the introduced food labelling has little impact on overall demand within the fast food industry (Grunert and Wills, 2007). In Denmark, a government initiative in 2003 placed restrictions on the amount of artificially created unsaturated fats, known as Trans Fat, or TFA, which have been shown to be heavily involved in increasing cholesterol and thereby heart disease risk., TFAs are present in many food industries that rely on deep fat frying, as they can be used for far longer than more conventional oils while still staying relatively fresh (Choe and Min, 2007). Prior to the imposed restrictions, a meal of Chicken McNuggets and Medium French Fries at a typical Denmark McDonald’s had, on average, 30g of Trans Fat. After the restrictions, the same meal had on average less than 1g of Trans Fat (Hurt et al, 2010). In the US, by comparison, the fast food industry is far more self-regulating, with little to no government intervention at all, despite many published reports on the link between fast food industry advertising and childhood obesity (Wilson and Roberts, 2012). This is due to two main factors: firstly the US political system as a whole tends to be far more committed to laissez-faire economics than even its most right-wing European counterparts – in general, there is far more political inertia to overcome (Skousen, 2009). Secondly, the fast food industry has an aggressive and concentrated lobbying presence in the capital (of which McDonald plays a significant role), and is politically savvy enough to avoid or negate any proposed regulation that makes it through (Wilson and Roberts, 2012). The fast food lobby has thus far defeated proposed restrictions on Trans Fat content similar to those enacted in Denmark, a proposed ‘soda tax’ on sugary drinks, and policies aimed at controlling the amount of sugar, salt and fat in children’s meals (Wilson and Roberts, 2012). This helps to keep McDonald’s US profit margins higher than those countries where such restrictions have been imposed (Schlosser, 2012). Economical The recent economic recession was incredibly disruptive for firms in many industries, reducing revenues and profits across the board, and decreasing consumer demand for many goods and services (Kliman, 2012). However not all firms and industries were adversely affected – some actually saw revenue and profit opportunities increase during the economic downturn due to higher demand these tend to be firms and industries that are seen to provide ‘value for money’, of which the fast food industry is one (Bems et al, 2010). Fast food restaurants can be seen as imperfect substitutes for more traditional restaurants; many consumers prefer to eat out at a fast food restaurant as a cheaper alternative to a more expensive traditional restaurant. In 2008, near the height of the crisis, the fast food industry in the UK actually saw increased growth in terms of revenue of 4.5%, with an overall increase in demand for McDonald’s products of around 4% (Key Note, 2009). Other countries that saw similar increases in demand in the fast food industry in general and McDonald’s in particular include Japan, France and Belgium (Economist, 2010). By comparison, in the US the demand for McDonald’s products over the recession did not increase as in Japan, the UK and France, but more importantly it did not decrease either – this during a time where demand in the overall US restaurant industry fell by around 6% (Economist, 2010). These figures paint a picture of the fast food industry being relatively recession proof; however, as a Moody’s report (2009) cautions, this may not always be the case. Consumers may choose to eat at home rather than going out in particularly severe recessions, substituting home-cooked meals for restaurant ones, value-for-money or otherwise. They may also focus their demand on low-cost, ‘budget’ menu items with particularly low profit margins. Indeed, during the recession Burger King saw its US profits fall by around 6% as customers increasingly turned to its dollar menu options which it had chosen to focus on as a marketing strategy during the recession, with demand for those items increasing by as much as 20%. A number of Burger King franchises actually sued the corporation after requiring them to promote and sell double-cheeseburgers at $1, when they cost $1.10 to make (Economist, 2010). Such poor marketing strategies undoubtedly led to Burger King’s fall in profits during the recession – in contrast, McDonald’s continued to focus on its more expensive standard menu options, and actually increased marketing spend by 7%, as many companies cut back (Ritchie, 2010). Sociological While McDonald’s and the fast food industry in the US has manage to dodge most proposed regulation aimed at reducing the unhealthiness of many of their products, they have been perhaps less successful in dodging the negative public opinion over the same issue. Fast food in general has seen its public image decline as society in general becomes more health conscious –the preceding decades have seen a rise in many societal health-based food initiatives, such as increased demand for unprocessed and organic foods, and a growing public awareness of obesity and heart disease and its links to high-fat foods. In 2004 Morgan Spurlock, an American social-commentary filmmaker in the same vein as Michael Moore, created the documentary Super-Size Me (2004), where he ate only McDonald’s for 30 days, for 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). He did not allow himself to have any other food during that time, and had to upgrade to a super-size meal whenever asked, which had double the amount of fries of a medium sized meal, and also came with a 42 ounce coke. After the 30 day period, he had gained 1 stone and 10.5 pounds of extra weight which represented a 13% body mass increase, had a cholesterol level of 230 (where levels below 200 are considered healthy) and had developed cirrhosis of the liver (Spurlock, 2004). There have also been many damaging reports made about the fast food industry in general and McDonald in particular, including a number of studies that have suggested fast food addiction shares many of the same characteristics as drug addiction (Garber and Lustig, 2011; Volkow and Wise, 2005). A paper by Johnson and Kenny (2010) found that high-fat food triggered many of the same dopamine receptors in rats as those triggered by cocaine or heroin, and can override standard eating responses and lead to bout of compulsive, addictive-like eating. In response to this, McDonald’s has phased out the super-size option for all of its US meals (the UK supersize meal option had been phased out in 2001 due to very low demand, and had not been introduced in any other countries) and began offering more healthy menu options, including fruit smoothies, salads, milk, water and fruit (Pompper and Higgins, 2007). They have also launched a number of innovative marketing campaigns aimed at highlighting the new range of healthy alternatives, a policy that is estimated to cost an additional $35million in marketing costs (Vizard, 2013). Such an approach appears to have been effective, with no sales decline reported in any month over the last 10 years (Vizard, 2013). Technological The advent of the internet has opened up many opportunities for low-cost, high-impact marketing across a range of firms and industries. Increasingly, firms are being judged more and more strongly on their online presence and perceived technological savvy – it can seriously harm a business’ image if they are seen as out-of-touch with the modern technological world (Chaffey, 2009). Marketing opportunities using the internet are many and varied and can range from intricate, involved, multi-layered viral campaigns, through website design and functionality to a simple social media presence. While the fast food industry was slow to catch on to the benefits of internet marketing in the beginning, most firms have now embraced its potential, and McDonald’s is at the forefront. As well as taking the (now somewhat standard) step of establishing a strong social media presence, with the creation of both a Facebook page and twitter account in 2009, McDonald have also run a number of successful online marketing campaigns, including an ‘Ask McDonald’s Youtube campaign in 2012, where over 20,000 questions from the public were answered, with most being based around the quality and supply chain of McDonald’s food and burgers. Many of the questions were answered through short Youtube videos, some of which have gathered over 10 million views, and most of which were received very positively (Macmillan, 2012). However, as with most other firms, the internet has proved to be a double-edged sword in terms of marketing success for McDonald’s. There have also been a number of negative articles posted on Facebook and Twitter about the company and its products, including an obvious hoax post that claimed a batch of McDonald’s hamburgers in Oklahoma had been found to have been contaminated with ‘human meat’ (Hooton, 2014, p1). Despite the obvious falseness of the claims (the posts were taken from a joke news site, satirising the Tesco horse meat scandal of 2013) many people online believed the stories, claiming to be sickened by them, and declaring they would boycott McDonald products from now on (Hooton, 2014). Such false information is easily spread online with little to no information regulation; firms can be at the mercy of false accusations and internet pranks. Also, in direct contrast to the successful Youtube campaign was a perhaps less successful Twitter campaign, where McDonald’s promoted the #Mcdstories hashtag for twitter users to post their stories and positive experiences with the firm. However, as there was no ability to either control or properly interact with the responses as with the Youtube campaign, the campaign collapsed almost immediately with a glut of negative anti-McDonald’s tweets, outweighing the positive responses by around 10 to 1 (Kolowich, 2014). Careful monitoring of the company’s online presence and quick response to such incidents will go some way to mitigating the potential damage. Environmental In recent years, environmental issues have come to the forefront of public consciousness with the rise of many green initiatives and movements. In response, many businesses now include some form of environmental damage mitigation to counteract the negative environmental aspects of their typical business production methods; typical methods include the replanting of trees to offset carbon emissions caused by the transportation of goods, a reduction in the amount of paper used in the administrative side of the business, energy-saving initiatives such as the turning off of lights, electrical appliances and computers when facilities are not in use, and a reduction in the amount of packaging used in the production process (Satya, 2002). Environmental concerns about a business’ operations are particularly pronounced in the food industry, as food production techniques are often associated with poor environmental controls, particularly in emerging third world economy producers, and budget meat suppliers (Foster et al, 2007). Indeed, a number of protests have been levelled at many fast food firms in general, and McDonald’s in particular – on 19th July 1985, Greenpeace in the UK declared an â€Å"anti-McD Day of Action† (Veggis, 2014, p1) which involved demonstrations, protest marches and pickets of many McDonald’s stores across the UK. The ‘Day of Action’ has been repeated every year on the same date, and protests against â€Å"the promotion of junk food, the unethical targeting of children, exploitation of workers, animal cruelty, damage to the environment and the global domination of corporations over our lives† (Veggis, 2014, p3). In 1997, two of the protestors were sued by McDonald’s for libel, after repeating some of these claims in many McDonald’s restaurant. The judge found in favour of McDonald’s for some of the allegations of libel, but found others had some truth to them and could not be considered libellous, including claims that they â€Å"falsely advertise their food as nutritious, risk the health of their long-term regular customers† and â€Å"are culpably responsible for cruelty to animals reared for their products† (Justice Bell, 1997, p13). In response to this, McDonald’s have initiated a number of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies centred on reducing the environmental impact of the business; they currently participate in ‘Earth Hour,’ an initiative that encourages many businesses to turn off their lights and unused equipment on a specific hour each year, to reduce their carbon footprint. They have also sought to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging, seeking out more biodegradable packaging in many markets; they have initiated paper-reduction policies in many of their administration centres, and they have also instigated investigations into the care and management of the animals reared for their product supply, with a view to ensuring no unnecessary cruelty or inhumane treatment is taking place (McDonald’s, 2014c) Legal The specific legal environment in which McDonald’s operates is highly dependent on the specific country and market in question; however, most of the markets that McDonald’s operates in have some form of a Health and Safety legal framework, particularly with regard to food preparation. Many, if not all of the countries McDonald’s operates in has some form of public health inspection system with regard to food producers in the UK, it is the Food Standards Agency, while in the US, it is the Food and Drug Administration (Campbell et al, 2008). In both markets, any employees with food-handling capabilities must take part in food-hygiene training at the company’s expense. McDonald’s has implemented a system that adds additional controls to those required by either health agency, and as their customer-facing website states, â€Å"there are at least 70 safety checks on beef and chicken every day. In fact, McDonald’s rigorous standards have been used by government agencies as models for their own regulations† (McDonald’s, 2014d, p1). In this way, their dedication to food safety over and above that required by law can be used as a marketing tool, to emphasise their commitment to quality (Campbell et al, 2008). There are also a number of employment laws to consider in each market, including those regulating the maximum length of an employee’s daily and weekly working hours, the requirements for employee breaks and facilities, tax and payroll requirements, business registration and accountancy standards for reporting profit and loss (Jones, 2013). McDonald’s tends to adhere to the same legal standards across markets for each of these areas, even in markets with less stringent regulations or legal requirements than those of the UK or US markets (McDonald’s, 2014a). Conclusion In conclusion, McDonald’s faces a number of challenges from its external environment, including the threat of further government health regulation in the US, social concerns about the unhealthiness of their products, adverse publicity from hoaxes or failed marketing campaigns on the internet, and additional protests regarding the environmental impact of the business. Through understanding these challenges, McDonald’s marketing and strategy managers can use the business’ strengths, such as its commitment to food quality and safety, its successful marketing campaigns, and the overall strengths of its brand, to turn these challenges into potential business opportunities. In order to do so, they can use the information provided by this PESTEL analysis as the groundwork for a comprehensive SWOT analysis, to enable the intelligent setting of future strategy for McDonalds. In this way, they can help to ensure McDonald’s remains a market leader in the fast food industry. References Baines, P, Fill, C and Page, K (2011), Marketing, 2nd Ed, Oxford: Oxford University Press Bems, R, Johnson, R and Yi, K (2010), ‘Demand Spillovers and the Collapse of Trade in the Global Recession’, IMF Economic Review, Volume 58, Issue 1, pp295-326 Campbell M, Gardner C, Dwyer J, Isaacs S, Krueger P, and Ying J (2008), Effectiveness of public health interventions in food safety: a systematic review, University of York: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Chaffey, D (2009), Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Harlow: Pearson Education Choe, E and Min, D (2007), ‘Chemistry of Deep-Fat Frying Oils’, Journal of Food Science, Volume 72, Issue 5, ppR77-R86 Economist (2010), The changes facing fast food: Good and hungry [Online], Available; http://www.economist.com/node/16380043 [Accessed 9th October 2014] Food Standards Agency (2005), UK salt reduction initiatives, London: FSA Foster, C, Green, K, Bleda, M and Dewik, P (2007), Environmental impacts of food production and consumption: final report to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Brussels: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Garber, A and Rustig, R (2011), ‘Is fast food addictive?’, Current Drug Abuse Review, Volume 4, Issue 3, pp146-162 Grunert, K and Wills, J (2007), ‘A review of European research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels’, Journal of Public Health, Volume 15, Issue 5, pp385-399 Hooton, C (2014), Those human meat found in McDonalds factory stories and Facebook posts are a hoax, obviously [Online], Available; http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/those-human-meat-found-in-McDonalds-factory-stories-and-facebook-posts-are-a-hoax-obviously-9784592.html [Accessed 9th October 2014] Hurt, R, Kulisek, C, Buchanan, L and McClave, S (2010), ‘The Obesity Epidemic: Challenges, Health Initiatives, and Implications for Gastroenterologists’, Gastroenterol Hepatol , Volume 6, Issue 12, pp780-792 Johnson, P and Kenny, P (2010), ‘Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats’, Nature Neuroscience, Volume 13, Issue 1, pp635-641 Jones, L (2013), Introduction to Business Law, 2nd Ed, Oxford : Oxford University Press Justice Bell (1997), Justice Bell’s Verdict: 19th June 1997 [Online], Available; http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/trial/verdict/verdict0_sum.html [Accessed 10th October 2014] Key Note (2009), Fast-Food Home-Delivery Outlets Market Update 2009, London: Key Note Kliman, A (2012), The failure of capitalist production: Underlying causes of the great recession, 1st Ed, London: Pluto Press Kolowich, L (2014), The Rules of Twitter Hashtags: Hits and Misses From 7 Big Brands [Online], Available; http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/twitter-hashtag-campaign-examples [Accessed 10th October 2014] Macmillan, G (2012), How McDonald’s created a social media success with questions campaign [Online], Available; http://wallblog.co.uk/2012/08/20/how-McDonalds-created-a-social-media-success-with-questions-campaign/ [Accessed 8th October 2014] McDonald’s (2014a), Corporate Info [Online], Available; http://www.McDonalds.com/us/en/our_story/Corporate_Info.html [Accessed 7th October 2014] McDonald’s (2014b), McDonalds International Franchising [Online], Available; http://www.McDonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Aboutus/Franchising.html [Accessed 7th October 2014] McDonald’s (2014c), Striving for a Sustainable Future [Online], Available; http://www.McDonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Ourworld/Environment.html [Accessed 10th October 2014] McDonald’s (2014d), Food Safety [Online], Available; http://www.McDonalds.ca/ca/en/food/making_informed_choices/food_safety.html [Accessed 10th October 2014] Moody’s Investors Services (2009), Fast-Food Advantage, New York: Alacra Store Moskowitz, D (2014), McDonalds Brand Strength Still Dominates Its Peers [Online], Available; http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/03/McDonalds-brand-strength-still-dominates-its-peers.aspx [Accessed 8th October 2014] Pompper, D and Higgins, L (2007), ‘Corporation-bashing in documentary film: A case study of news media coverage organizational response’, Public Relations Review, Volume 33, Issue 4, pp429-432 Ritchie, J (2010), How McDonald’s Thrived During the Recession [Online], Available;https://www.mint.com/blog/trends/McDonalds-recession-09212010/ [Accessed 9 th October 2014] Satya, L (2002), ‘Environmentalism: A Global History (review)’ Journal of World History, Volume 13, Issue 2, pp525-529 Schlosser, E (2012), Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, 1st Ed, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Skousen, M (2009), The Making of Modern Economics, 2nd Ed, New York: M E Sharpe Spurlock, M (2004), Super-Size Me, Documentary, New York: The Con Production Company Veggis (2014), Whats Still Wrong With McDonalds: Same date every year [Online], Available; http://www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=50 [Accessed 10th October 2014] Vizard, S (2013), McDonalds vows to ramp up marketing of healthy options [Online], Available; http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/McDonalds-vows-to-ramp-up-marketing-of-healthy-options/4008065.article [Accessed 9th October 2014] Volkow, N and Wise, R (2005), ‘How can drug addiction help us understand obesity?’ Nature Neuroscience, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp555-560 Wilson, D and Roberts, J (2012), Special Report: How Washington went soft on childhood obesity [Online], Available; http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/27/us-usa-foodlobby-idUSBRE83Q0ED20120427 [Accessed 8th October 2014]

Contrasting Romance Novels and Pornography: Male and Female Preference

Contrasting Romance Novels and Pornography: Male and Female Preferences I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance novel, not for school, and certainly not for my own enjoyment. Although I’m not much into pornography either, I get much more excited looking at visual images of attractive women than if I were simply reading about them. Growing up, I remember the opposite to be true for my older sister, who often had romance novels lying around in her room. The contrasts between romance novels and pornography underscore how different female and male erotic fantasies are. These differences reflect human evolutionary history and the disparate sexual selection pressures women and men experience. According to our course handbook and as evidenced throughout history, men have been larger, and thus, the hunters. The role of women has been that of the gatherer, and also the rearing of offspring. To aid men during hunts for food, natural selection has led males to develop enhanced spatial and visual skills, to better coordinate their attacks. Females instead, have developed better verbal and language skills for communication. Since men have adapted to become more responsive to visual stimuli, male sexual fantasies have become dominated by visual imagery, while female sexual fantasies place emphasis on the personal characteristics of the partner and the emotional context of the encounter. The pornography industry has changed little since Victorian times, it is almost exclusively aimed at males (heterosexual and homosexual); it is overwhelmingly visual; involves many different youthful and attractive partners, and provides instant sexual gratification without the need for emotional commitment. On the other hand, romance novels ... ...ductive success (Galanti 2003). Mass-market pornography aimed at men, and romance novels for women feed off the basic desires of each sex. Variety, and young, visually attractive women are what men wish for, while women enjoy the romance and emotional involvement of intimate relationships. These preferences are fundamental in their sexual behavior, and have evolved throughout history. Works Cited Galanti, G. (2003). Evolutionary Perspective on Sex and Gender, Basic Concepts. CSULA. Kastleman, Mark. (2003). How internet pornographers market to women vs men. http://www.1stopwebprotect.com/webprotect_articles/men_women.html Salmon, Catherine. (2003). Warrior Lovers: Erotic fiction, evolution and female sexuality. London: Yale University Press. Symons, Donald. (1979). The Evolution of Human Sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.

The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is a fiction novel that attempts to explore idealism concealed in fantasy. The protagonist, Gregory is a sales man who is the bread winner of the family. He is a child of the family, but works hard to take care of his family, including his parents. He has a very busy and tiring life. He is ever out on business trips or at work. His hard work is not in vain, he is able to meet the needs of his family. He does not like the job however, he is only striving to clear his parents' debts, after which he intends to quit. It is at this point that the story gets dramatic suddenly, he metamorphoses into a vermin. The family is shocked at first, then when they realize he is no longer beneficial, they decide to get rid of him. The novel does not dwell on the event. The reader is faced with the aftermath. The whole happening, the how, is missing from the text. Perhaps the account of this is missing because Gregory must have been asleep, therefore could not decipher changes in his body. The main theme in the story is alienation. The story follows a simple straight forward plot which present the reader with a chance to easily comprehend. Gregory is alienated from the society, his family and himself. He opts for a permanent elimination after his metamorphosis. This is due to the fact that life becomes almost unbearable. He is an insect with a human identity. The alienation in the storyThe story appears simple and superfluous. From the onset, where Gregory turns into a vermin, the reader's spirit is invoked into deep thought. The whole ideas seems irrational if not illogical, at least by the laws of science. We get to interact with the life of a business man, who can no longer fend for the family due to his new state. The whole story appears metaphoric as it goes beyond natural instincts.The story is carefully designed to make the user come to terms with it citation. This is to illustrate the truth of metamorphosis. Scientifically, metamorphosis is a process of irreversible transfiguration from one less developed form to a more developed form. In a story that attempts to create a fantasy in a real world, the reader is thrown into an unreal world that is unrecognizable by the mind. How can a man change into a Vermin overnight?As the story progresses, it gets clearer when compared with the present day industrial revolution. The advancement in technology makes the metamorphosis ‘real'. The story is symbolic and it gives a forecast into the future. The present day levels of alienation will be surpassed. The more the social Medias grow the more individualism grows. This shoots alienation to a whole new level.Much of the story is based on the after metamorphosis has taken place.it is only after he has turned into a gigantic insect that he begins to analyze his life. He had never thought about his interests at deep length. His main goal had been to work as hard as possible for the family. His parents had a debt which he had purposed to clear. When he turns into a vermin, he does not even for a moment ponder over the possibility. He is only thinking about how he is going to get to his job. To be able to sustain the family. He relates the situation with his inability to work, and laments about that only. He does not worry about how it happened. He quickly adapts to being an insect and hides behind the couch. He takes the whole life of an insect and alienates himself further. At the realization that he is no longer human, his family develops hostility. He becomes an enemy. The father wants to kill him while the mother faints. He is further alienated when the family gets ashamed of being with him. The members of his family thinks he is very ugly, dirty and scary. He also gets to develop the same attitude towards himself.We are showed how much serious it gets after metamorphosis has had effect. He is denied his rights. He is not a family member anymore. He has to adjust to a new life. Eating like an insect, sleeping under the couch among other sad realities. He has never had a chance to be close to anybody, since he has always been busy working. He had no personal life, his had been just work. It is only with his sister, Grete, whom he is a bit close with.He has always wanted to advance her studies in violin. He loved the way she played it. But now he could not even get a chance to watch her play, he was considered a nuisance.He loses track of his old life. He instead finds himself as a human being trapped in an insect body. He still yearns for his human lifestyle and hopes to incorporate it in his insect life. For instance, he does not approve of the decision by his family to remove the furniture from his room. His family assumes that he does not need them anymore since he is not a human now. But he does not cherish the idea of running around in an empty room. He however, is unable to make his wish known to them. His is an insect, with an ugly appearance. If he shows up to try to prove a point, it would only scare them and perhaps attract more hostility. Therefore he decides to maintain a passive nature. He prefers his room as it was previously as it reminds him that he is human. He wants to feel that he is still human, with feelings. He is not yet ready to lose his human identity as of yet. Earlier, he had a job and he was human, however, he was still alienated. He had work to attend to since he was the breadwinner of the family. Gregory was naturally motivated by the suffering of others. He didn't want any other member of the family struggling. He worried about their wellbeing and for this cause, he was always alone working. He would either be in restaurant rooms on business trips or at work on his own. His urge to help his family is crystal clear, although this contributes actively to his alienation. The novel vividly describes Gregory's plight before he undergoes metamorphosis. He starts lowly, then with hard work and great effort, he is able finally, to feed the family comfortably. The family is happy at his efforts, but does not make any attempts to understand his personal life. The family gets used to the provisions he makes. The family alienates him and does not see beyond the money he makes.Gregory dislikes his job. The job prevents him from living a life true to his lifestyle. He is forced into the job by circumstances. He plans on walking out, but cannot do so presently because he has a debt to clear. A debt he is paying for his parents. His selfless nature adds more to his personal sufferings as man. This makes his life unbearable even before his metamorphosis. He sticks to job he hates not because he wants to, but because of a more honorable cause. This, as expected, alienates him further. The protagonist, Gregory agrees to die, when the sister, with whom he had ever managed an intimate relationship with, finally decides that they need to get rid of him. â€Å"The decision that he must disappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister if that were possible. In this state of vacant and peaceful meditation, he remained until the tower clock struck three in the morning. The first broadening of light in the world outside the window entered his consciousness once more. Then his head sank to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last flicker of his breath.† (135pg). He approves of the idea partly because he thinks that it would do the family good. He thought he was already becoming a burden, and one who is used to reaching out to people, promptly approves of his death. This is the final stage and the most fatal permanent alienation he subjects himself to. The novel brings Gregory's alienation to light before and after metamorphosis. He suffers both as a human and as an insect. He suffers more as a vermin as compared to when he was still human. He can no longer go to work, thus the guilt weighs more heavily on him. He is now an insect and feels that he needs to disappear from the lives of his family members, therefore he opts for a permanent method. He dies, thereby alienating himself permanently.

Poems from different cultures Essay

I am writing about a poem called ‘I Am Not That Woman’ which was written by an Asian poet called Kishwar Naheed. The poem is about how cruelly women were treated by men in the past and how they have become nowadays. It is time for them to ‘flower free’.  Women are expressed as really special in the poem. The poem shows that men do not realize the true identity of women. They regard them as something to trade with or use them for their house work. They do not know that in a way women are much better then men as the poet clearly highlights ‘my voice cannot be smothered by stones’. The poem shows that it does not matter how much men try to torture or hide the women the women will never loose their beauty, their ‘motherhood’ and their ‘loyalty’ because they are more special than men. The poem is mainly targeted at the fathers and the husbands because in the past and even in the present many Asians think of their daughters as a burden and want to get rid of them as soon as possible. The poet clearly mentions this in the first two lines of the fourth stanza ‘I am the one you married off to get rid of a burden’. This shows that even fathers are cruel to their daughters. Naheed then further on says to the fathers ‘not knowing that a nation of captive minds cannot be free’. This could mean that the Asian men only think about confining their women to the house and never think about letting them free. The verse could also mean that the father’s mind stays captive if he forces his daughter to marry someone. Basically he stays in depression or tension; he does not get his peace of mind by forcing his daughter to marry someone. The repetition of the word chastity shows that the woman believes in virginity. She is modest and is not like the woman on the posters ‘half naked’ and she emphasizes that by saying at the end ‘No, no, I am not that woman’. The end line shows that although Naheed believes in freedom she does not believe in woman being used for advertisements. She thinks that women are meant to be mothers and not some business advertisers. They are supposed to be loyal to their husbands and free from all outside marriage sexual acts as it is mentioned in the last stanza ‘†¦my chastity, my motherhood, my loyalty’. We learn from the poem that husbands were really cruel to their wives. They believed in confining their wives to their kitchens because they thought that that was the right place for the women. The men believed that the men should ‘roam free as the breeze’ whilst the women ‘hid in walls of stone’. They did not ever think that woman had the right to live a life outside their house and the men would ignore them if they ever argued for freedom. The men believed that their traditions were everything. They had to follow their customs or else they would be regarded as really bad in the society. The poet shows the woman point of view about that idea ‘†¦crushed with the weight of custom and tradition†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ this shows that the woman were crushed or in other words ignored when they told their husbands that they wanted freedom. The women had no right to speak against the traditions of their husband’s. The poet further on says to the husbands ‘not knowing light cannot be hidden in darkness’ which shows that even after all the cruelty the woman went through she still knew that the women are something very special. They are not affected by the torture and the ignorance of some men. The word ‘I am’ is repeated at the beginning of every stanza which could mean that the poet is trying to emphasize to the men that she is the one that they had tortured. She is the one that they had hid in their walls of stone but know she has become free. She is free from the captive of the men that had tortured her and they can do nothing about it now. She is trying to make them realize that they cannot abuse someone for too long. One day they would become free and they would fight for their justice whilst the tortures would just watch and be surprised. I think that the poem is very well presented and it gives a very clear image about how cruel the men were to the women in the past. They had no respect for them. They would just trade them for their chastity not knowing that women were supposed to be respected and honoured. The poem shows to us that women can fight for themselves as well but they don’t because they want to be loyal to their husbands.  The poem does not have a proper rhyming scheme but it does have a few rhyming words in some of the stanzas. It has a steady rhythm all the way through and the poem is written in simple language. This lets the poet express her message clearly and fully to the people.