Western Humanities Essay - How is the Palace of Versailles a fitting

Western Humanities - How is the Palace of Versailles a fitting symbol of the Age of Absolutism - Essay Example Louis chose to build the palace on the location of his father’s hunting lodge in Versailles. For the next two decades the town became an enormous construction site. Le Vau added new wings and faà §ades on every side until they completely enveloped the original hunting lodge. Illustrious additions included the Sun King’s magnificent bedroom (the Chambre du Roi), and the famous Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors). Construction of the Hall of Mirrors began in 1678. The principal feature of this famous hall is the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen arcaded windows that overlook the gardens (Singleton 25). The mirrors are very decadent and decorated and they use natural light and candlelight to create awesome space. There is an Audience hall within that highlights Louis XIV’s enormous wealth and power. Ceiling frescoes illustrate Louis’s successes in war. Versailles became the home of the French nobility and the location of the royal court thus becoming the center of French government. Symbolically the central room of the long extensive symmetrical range of buildings was the Kings Bedchamber. All the power of France emanated from this center: there were government offices here; as well as the homes of thousands of courtiers, their retinues and all the attendant functionaries of court, thus keeping the lords close at hand and securing the French government in an absolute monarchy. All major avenues radiate from and to the palace courtyard. The King’s bedchamber is the actual radiating point, which highlights the king’s centrality. Buildings create an embrace and the gardens reflect the King’s mastery over the natural world. Exterior is classical; linear and geometric that emphasizes order and stability (Ranum 20). Louis weakened the power of the nobles by excluding them from his councils. In contrast, he increased the power of the government agents called intendants, which collected taxes and

A critical discussion of Porters view that the economic structure of Essay

A critical discussion of Porters view that the economic structure of the restaurant industry determines the pattern of competition in that industry - Essay Example The global restaurant industry is highly saturated and in a mature stage of development along the industry life cycle, a factor that is driven by the economics of the industry. The economic structure is influenced by the tangibles along the value chain for food services organisations, including the volume of suppliers along the supply chain and the pricing structure of procurement, which impacts all restaurant organisations. The industry is also impacted by the demographics of the consuming public in terms of income as well as the availability of financial capital or ability to raise capital in the regions where the food services organisations operate. Hence, there are a variety of factors that will determine the methods and strategies by which competitors attempt to compete to attain some form of competitive advantage that are all linked with the economics of the industry. The restaurant industry In China, as one example, there is a high concentration of Western fast food companies that have saturated the industry. Growth in consumer demand for Western food brands has given food service companies ample opportunities for expansion out of the North American and European markets. However, it not only consumer demand that has provided these opportunities, it is the investment by a more liberal Chinese government that has stabilised the regional economy that provides advantages for market entry and expansion. The government has injected considerable financial capital into urban development, there is more interest by venture capitalists for this same pursuit, and government policies have provided much more incentives for foreign direct investment in the country (Areddy 2009). Inflation has been largely stabilised by government intervention and policy development, thereby offering consumers much more disposable income that is crucial for sustaining profitability. In 2012, the government invested 57.92 billion USD to motivate more effective corporate borrowing and to control interest rates (Safe Trading 2013). From a social perspective, as Chinese culture begins adopting more ideologies and principles associated with a capitalistic economy, lifestyle preferences are changing that are favourable for new entrants in the fast food industry. In contemporary China, 50 percent of consumers prefer eating in restaurants over that of household consumption (Ganster 2006), which provides a potential market of approximately one half billion consumers. In 2008, consumers in Shanghai spent approximately seven percent of their total disposable income on restaurant dining which represented a whopping 20 percent increase in spending from that of 2007 (Rentz and Xu 2010). Therefore, the economic structure of the industry, coupled with higher guarantees of consumer expenditures on food services, establishes an industry environment that can satisfy profit expectations for a variety of major competitors and new market entrants into the country. The entire fast food industry in China, from a market value perspective, increased 16 percent between 2010 and 2011 and is estimated to be worth 74.8 billion USD in revenues to all competitors (Ho 2011). Therefore, major fast food companies, such as KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, have found considerable profit success by entering the Chinese fast food market. Prior to recent years, however, in order for the aforementioned companies (and their large variety of other competitors) to achieve market success, they were forced to import food products from the West which significantly raised operating

Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and antisemitism as shown in the Essay

Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and antisemitism as shown in the treatment of Shylock - Essay Example But unlike Marlowe, Shakespeare endowed his villain Shylock with some very human qualities that evoke much sympathy. (Glock, 144-50) The result is an ambivalence toward Shylock that makes his role one of the most dramatically complex and compelling among all of Shakespeare's characters, and one that reinforces the sense of this work as a problem play. (Oldrieve, 87) Next to Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice is Shakespeare's most frequently performed play. The reason for its apparent popularity may be in part because it is perennially a required text set for national examinations that students in British secondary schools take. It is less popular in the United States because of the anti-Semitism that the play incorporates, although many producers, directors, and actors have argued that while the play contains elements of anti-Semitism, it is not in itself anti-Semitic. Recently, some scholars have tried to show that, on the contrary, Shakespeare explores ways to reconcile the age-old antagonisms between Christians and Jews.( Glock, 144-50) Shylock, of course, is not the only important character in The Merchant of Venice, which takes its title from Antonio, the Venetian merchant who borrows from Shylock to help his friend, Bassanio. Portia, the rich heiress whom Bassanio courts, is another major character, and the relationship between her and her suitors also raises important moral issues. Unfortunately, in the history of anti-Semitism, Shylock has since become a symbol for a heartless, money-grubbing Jew. Heartless he may be in act 4, but earlier he offers Antonio a loan at no interest in an attempt to win his friendship (1.3.134-37). Usury is the lending of money at interest. It was considered to be inappropriate for a Christian to do this, and as a result, Jews who were in the business of usury were looked down upon. Antonio, who lends money freely, appears to be the charitable Christian, in contrast to Shylock, who preys upon the hardship of others in order to further increase his own material wealth. The perception created by Antonio's argument is that Shylock hates someone for their following a Christian virtue, which implies that Shylock is against Christianity. The demonization of Shylock proceeds by three stages: Shylock is stripped of his name. In the entire play his referred to by name only three times; in the trial scene, the Duke twice identifies him by name, and Portia does so once. In the course of the rest of the play he is called "the Jew" or "dog Jew"(II,viii,14) or "currish Jew"(IV,I,133-34). Shylock is reduced to something other than human. Gratiano curses Shylock with "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!"(IV,i,128) Shylock is equated with the devil. In (II,ii,24-28), Launcelot Gobbo identifies Shylock as "a kind of devil", "the devil himself", and "the very devil incarnation". The images of Jews as blood-thirsty murderers of Jesus who snatch innocent Christian children for slaughter in bizarre Passover rituals seems to provide a potent back-drop for the demonic traits heaped upon Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is characterized nearly throughout the play as an evil, murderous man. This image of him is supported by the excessive bloodlust that Shylock exhibits. (Rosen, 89-93) The audience is made to hate Shylock early on. In Act 1, scene 3, Shylock tells

Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Essays - Essay Example Based on studies prepared years before the new millennium, Flowers (2002) concluded that the use and abuse of drugs, among other substances, have been robustly related to juvenile delinquency and criminality. Conditions have not improved much since then. Bartol and Bartol (2008) reported that juveniles made up 17 % of arrests made in 2005. Mocan and Tekin (2005) established that the use of drugs wielded a profound influence on one’s predilection to commit crime. Indeed, from LSD to OxyContin to ecstasy, drugs have figured significantly as triggers to commit crime from the late 60s until the present time. Called by its own inventor, Albert Hoffman â€Å"my problem child†, lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD has itself spawned real-life problem children or juveniles since 1938 when it was first synthesized (Carey, 2008; Berger, 2005a). Psychedelic or psychoactive drugs, like LSD, are among the purported mind-altering drugs. Drugs classified as psychedelic or psychoactive consist of a concoction of chemicals not necessarily taken to improve health but known to have the effect of changing the user’s thoughts, reactions and perceptions of bodily sensations (Berger, 2005b; Drug-Free America, 2004). Mind altering substances in the same category as LSD are heroin or diamorphine, which is a powerful analgesic; cocaine, a highly abused narcotic anesthetic; and the psychoactive cannibus resin or oil from the hemp plant and its flower-bearing stem or tops known as marijuana (â€Å"Heroin†, 2005; Berger, 2005c; Jenkins, 2005). Other mind altering drugs include, but are not limited to OxyContin tablets, a licit narcotic drug used for pain management; dextroamphetamine, a drug which is fast gaining notoriety as a â€Å"recreational drug† but is medically prescribed for sleep disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; and methamphetamine, which is a stimulant and a â€Å"feel good† drug usually smoked, swallowed or injected and used illegally

Future potential for growth of BMO, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Libro Research Paper

Future potential for growth of BMO, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Libro - Research Paper Example Hence, the future growth potential for this company, expressed mathematically could be 0.016%. However, there are other methods that be used in funding the growth, the BMO’s growth potential just like other firms in Canada is hugely dependent on the expansion of the economy after factoring in inflation. These methods can involve the rights issue in which the company pools resources from the shareholders. The company should resort to the overseas market to establish a global presence in the light of other global financial services heavy weight such as Barclays, and more so in the emerging markets, and in particular the Bric countries. The future potential growth although dimmed by the mathematical poor showing at a paltry 0.016% can be redeemed through rights issue. Already the company has presence in Beijing China and Singapore, the company needs to spread its wing to Russia and India, and other large industrial cities in China, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. This is the investment service wing of the Bank, and just like its parent company, it holds a lot of future growth potential. The future growth potential of this firm is directly linked to the value of human resource available that can positively improved the net value of the companies fees as well that of the clients. Unlike the case of the parent company in which the focus was market expansion, the future growth potential for BMO Nesbitt Burns shall be pegged on its income potential, which is the ability to predict increased income. BMO Nesbitt Burns is an cap Canadian domestic portfolio, hence they have positioned the portfolio based on the greatest returns they can get. A dollar investment daily and the greatest return from the dollar can be the company’s greatest strategy be it a small capitalized company or a large capitalized automotive company. 5366.79 Another important means of determining the future potential of a company is through the

Question is in the instruction box Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Question is in the instruction box - Essay Example Therefore, many of MNCs have developed internal programmes, guidance and management systems, which underpin their commitment to good corporate citizenship, good practices, good business conduct and employee conduct with an aim of achieving successful business performance in the global competitive market. These guidelines employed by MNCs aims to promote the positive values and contributions such as economic, environmental and social advancement in an economy, as well as, enabling companies to achieve appropriate business conduct for efficient business operations. This has been brought forth by the numerous technological as well as operational development that have been realized in the field making the organizations more competitive in a bid to maintain a competitive edge. This research seeks to evaluate the Value and Binding Effect of Internal Codes of Conduct by Multinational Enterprises. ... Corporate codes of conducts have been established and they exist in many MNCs in order to guide the company on the way they operate; thus enabling them to achieve successful business performance in the global competitive market2.The recent study that was carried out by the OECD concluded that most MNCs codes of conduct tend to be highly specific and they deal with the peculiarities of a certain project, location or specific company3. There are different codes of conducts designed to deal with different issues such as industry-specific corporate codes and these guidelines deals with environment; thus labor issues tend to be the most common issues which is being focused under this code of conduct. For instance, many multinational companies in U.S.A such as footwear companies, hardware companies, personal beauty care companies and electronic companies have adopted corporate code of conduct in order to enable them perform their business activities successfully. Multinational companies su ch as MacDonald stores generally support the idea of codes of conduct that standardize rules of corporate behaviors across the industries because it contributes to successful business performance across the globe. Many multinational companies have developed guidelines that help them in effective business operations. OECD countries have established deliberate standards and principles that are accountable for efficient business performance in diverse key areas including industrial relation, workforce, human rights and environmental areas4. The motivation behind adopting these guidelines can be quite complex but MacDonald Inch adopts codes of conduct due to the need of carrying out effective business practices. This is because the

Literacy essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literacy - Essay Example clearly put the whole justice system into a question; whether the evidence of ‘crime’ is the sole criteria of declaring guilty of the prime suspect and whether the crime should be seen from a wider perspectives? The story revolves around the place of crime where ‘Minnie Foster or Mrs. Wright as she is now called’ is accused of murdering her husband. Peter Hale, along with Sheriff and County Attorney visit the house to get the ‘feel’ of the murder and gather clue that might have led to it. Sheriff’s wife and Mrs. Hale also accompany them as some personal items were needed by the Mrs. Wright, who was in custody. While the men folk wander around the scene of the crime, the women remain in the kitchen and try to interpret the events by observing small things that was out of sync with the general way, women work in the house and kitchen. When they notice a block of the quilt that was very different from the rest and looked ‘as if the distracted thoughts of the woman who had perhaps turned to it to try and quiet herself were communicating themselves to her’ (Glaspell, 1993). Both the women perceive the signs that would have been emotionally disturbing for Mrs. Wright, the accused. Finally, when they find the dead canary in the sewing box, they hide the evidence that would have conclusively implicated Mrs. Wright and in their own way, try to give justice to the woman who might have been forced to commit the crime and knew that she would be denied justice if the men found the ‘evidence’! In the literary analysis of the short story by Elaine Hedges that was published in a leading international journal of Women’s studies in 1986, Hedge’s interpretation of the story became highly relevant because they brought into focus the weakness of the legal system that relies heavily on the machinations of ‘evidences’. It also highlights a very pertinent observation in the investigative techniques that are adopted by the two genders. While men like to