Perspective on Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Perspective on Business - Essay Example Business should in essence earn profits for its own good. This statement holds true for the business as a whole but the manner in which he has explained the statement suggests that business has to do a lot of social service work apart from the usual profit earning exercises that it usually undertakes on a consistent basis. Because of this, the aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has come about to the fold. This phenomenon is internal to an organization; as it dictates the manner in which it has to plan about the courses of action it has to carry out with respect to the society. This term basically deals with the organization’s set of operations that it carries out for the welfare of the society while existing within itself. However bringing in profits remains a significant aspect no matter what the ethical domains turn out to be. This is a reality and shall remain to be in the long range scheme of things. Moving on further with the discussion at hand regarding the responsibility of business units, we see that these concepts can be applied to a business in a very innovative fashion as well. The company can invest in the social arena with much return in mind, not in the short-term but of course in the long run. Such is the example of Shell, which has introduced education programs for children all over the globe thus acting as a consumer-friendly company. People in return like to buy products of Shell because it gives them the pleasure that some proportion of the money earned by Shell would be spent on its different social and literary programs. Culturally, this can prove to be a very vital agent that can really highlight the problem areas of different people within a particular environment and then go about correcting and reforming them in the best manner possible with the aid of funds and grants1. This is the basic way in which the business has been acting to do something for the sake of community welfare. The companies from the economic aspec ts can earn a due share with arranging all sorts of cultural activities in the name of charity that will benefit their cause and help the poor and needy. Speaking truly from an ethical viewpoint, it is the duty of any business that exists to satisfy a customer through its products and/or services to be responsive towards their needs and defer the financial sides concerned with the company. It is important though not to ignore the monetary aspect but to remain in the business in the first place for the ones the business is being done, it is essential to situate the resources onto them and then move on forward expanding the market share and the like. There are a number of companies that have continued to divest the consumers of their basic rights in the name of achieving certain financial ratios. However doing so does mean putting the business’ long term strategy at risk as the customers and the remaining stakeholders would not appreciate the fact that the enterprise does not v alue their concerns rather goes after the financial side. The need and thus the opportunity in the business world of present times is to get ourselves noticed and make the companies realize of their responsibilities that they owe to the customers. It is imperative on the part of the respective company’s leadership to understand that customers alone could shape up the future and visionary characteristics of the company and thus they have to be

Laurence Olivier Essay Example for Free

Laurence Olivier Essay The original classification of Shakespeare’s plays – ‘Comedies’, ‘Tragedies’, ‘Histories’ and ‘Roman plays‘ – don’t adequately describe all of Shakespeare’s plays, and scholars have come up with more names to do so. The most widely used categories are ‘Romance Plays’, ‘Problem Plays’, and Shakespeare’s ‘Tragicomedy Plays’. The plays in those categories have much in common, but there are enough differences to prevent some of them to fall into all three. The Winter’s Tale, for example is a play that does have the features of all three, however. A tragicomedy is a play that is neither a comedy nor a tragedy, although it has the features of both. Tragedies are usually focused almost exclusively on the central character, the tragic hero (although Shakespeare’s tragedies can sometimes be a double tragedy, with two tragic heroes, like Romeo and Juliet). The audience has insights into his mind and goes deeply in, as he does in Macbeth or Hamlet. Comic plays, on the other hand, remove that focus and the concerns are diversified so that the action is made up of the stories of several characters, particularly pairs of lovers. The shadows in human emotions are usually minor in the comedies: they are such things as misunderstandings, playful deceptions and so on. Plays that fall between the two stools of tragedy and comedy are sometimes referred to as ‘Problem Plays. ’ so the whole area of classification is a very difficult one. It shouldn’t be necessary to classify them but scholars need a language in which to talk about the plays. The Merchant of Venice can be seen as a tragicomedy. It has a comic structure but one of the central characters, Shylock, looks very much like a tragic character. The play has a comedy ending with the lovers pairing off but we are left with taste in the mouth of the ordeal of Shylock, destroyed by a combination of his own faults and the persecution of the lovers who enjoy that happy ending. The feeling at the end of the play is neither joy nor misery. The play has a decidedly comic structure but there is also a powerful tragic story. It can therefore be called a tragicomedy. Shakespeare’ tragicomedies usually have improbable and complex plots; characters of high social class; contrasts between villainy and virtue; love of different kinds at their centre; a hero who is saved at the last minute after a touch-and- go experience; surprises and treachery. The Winter’s Tale and Cymbeline are two plays that fit that tragicomical pattern. Shakespeare’s plays generally accepted as tragicomedy plays are: * Cymbeline * The Winter’s Tale Shakespeare’s Tragedy plays One of the main features of Renaissance art is that it was inspired by classical art and philosophy. This is evident in the work of such artists as Michelangelo who, caught up in the spirit of Humanism that was sweeping across Europe, focused on the human form. Focusing on the human form during Mediaeval times would have been impossible as it would have been a distraction from the necessary focus on God. The essence of Humanistic art was that human beings were created in God’s image so it was possible for Michelangelo even to portray God – as a beautiful and physically powerful man with realistic human features, presented as perfection – in fact, the human form at its most beautiful. Artists became anatomists, going as far as buying human bodies for dissection. The result was a new realism in the representation of human beings in art. Shakespeare is, in a way, the Michelangelo of literature. That he could, in one play, Othello, written four hundred years ago, represent what we can recognise as a modern psychopath and a modern alcoholic, in Iago and Cassio respectively, is incredible. Iago is a fully realised physochological character just as the David is a fully realized man physically. Greek drama was an important model for Renaissance drama after the flat, unrealistic morality plays of the mediaval centuries. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, defined tragedy and asserted that it was the noblest and most serious, dignified and important form of drama. Many of the plays of the Renaissance resembled those Greek tragedies. In several of Shakespeare’s plays there is a central protagonist who undergoes a harrowing experience as he is brought down from his lofty height, ending up dead. There is also a special feeling created in an observer of those Shakespearedramas, similar to the feeling described by Aristotle as the effect of tragedy on an observer. Critics thus thought of those Shakespeare plays as tragedies and that notion has remained with us to  this day, although many of those interested inShakespeare are now thinking differently about the plays. There are still teachers, though, who teach the ‘tragedies’ as though they were Aristotelian tragedies and miss a great deal of what those plays are doing. In his Poetics Aristotle outlines tragedy as follows: The protagonist is someone of high estate; a prince or a king. He is like us – perhaps a bit different in his level of nobility so that we can both identify with him and admire him as a man as well as respect him for his high estate. The protagonist has a ‘tragic flaw’ in his character which makes him contribute to his own destruction. This can take the form of an obsession. The flaw is often part of his greatness but it also causes his downfall. The flaw causes the protagonist to make mistakes and misjudgments. That in turn begins to alienate him from his supporters so that he becomes isolated. He begins to fall from his high level. He struggles to regain his position but fails and he comes crashing down. He eventually recognises his mistakes, but too late. An important aspect is the suffering he undergoes, which the audience observes and identifies with. We experience ‘pity’ and ‘terror’ as we watch what seems to us an avoidable suffering. At thend the air is cleared by the restoration of the order that existed before the events of the story and we experience what Aristotle calls ‘catharsis’ – a feeling of relief and closure. Using the term ‘tragedy’ about Shakespeare’s plays invites attempts to fit them to the Aristotelian pattern but none of them fits. Othello seems to conform to the pattern but when one thinks about it, Othello, superficially resembling a tragic hero, doesn’t even seem to be the main character in the play. It can be seen as a modern psychological drama about a psychopath who manipulates everyone around him just for fun – just because he has nothing better to do – and destroying other human beings gives him pleasure or is necessary because they get in his way. Othello may seem to have a fatal flaw – too trusting, gullible – but so do all the other characters, because Iago has deceived them all with his psychopathic charm and a deliberate effort of making himself appear trustworthy. Every misjudgment Othello makes is the hard work of Iago. Easily manipulated? Jealous? Does he have all those ‘tragic flaws’ as well? The feeling at the end is not quite Aristotle either. Perhaps it is more of a disgust for Iago than pity for Othello, who comes across as more stupid than tragic. And to make things more complicated, our feeling of pity is directed more to Desdamona. And yet some teachers miss the meaning of this play by their insistence on teaching it as an Aristotelian tragedy. Antony and Cleopatra is sometimes called a ‘double tragedy’. While Othello appears to fit the Aristotelian pattern because of the huge charisma of Othello at the beginning of the play Antony and Cleopatra cannot fit it in any shape or form. In tragedy the focus is on the mind and inner struggle of the protagonist. The emotional information comes to the audience from that source. In comedy the information comes from a variety of sources and the comic effect is produced by a display of many different points of view, coming at the audience from different angles. That is exactly what happens in Antony and Cleopatra , so we have something very different from a Greek tragedy. What we have is a miracle – a tragic feeling coming out of a comic structure. So what is Shakespearean tragedy? Perhaps there is no such thing. And yet we can identify a tragic feeling and even a cathartic effect in some of the plays. We must be very careful not to insist on fitting them to any pattern because that wouldn’t help us understand the plays. We must look elsewhere for our understanding of them. Moreover, all of Shakespeare’s plays have elements of both tragedy and comedy, sometimes very finely balanced, creating effects that Aristotle could never have dreamt of. List of Shakespeare’s Tragedy Plays * Antony and Cleopatra * King Lear * Macbeth * Othello * Romeo Juliet * Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare’s Comedy Plays Early Greek comedy was in sharp contrast to the dignity and seriousness of tragedy. Aristophanes, the towering giant of comedy, used every kind of humour from the slapstick through sexual jokes to satire and literary parody. Unlike tragedy, the plots didn’t originate in traditional myth and legend, but were the product of the writer’s creative imagination. The main theme was political and social satire. Over the centuries comedy moved away from those themes to focus on family matters, notably a concentration on relationships and the complications of love. Such a universal theme was bound to survive and, indeed, it has travelled well, from Greece through Roman civilization and, with the Renaissance preoccupation with things classical, into Renaissance Europe, to England and the Elizabethans, and into the modern world of the twentieth and twenty first centuries, where we see Greek comedy alive and well in films and television. Shakespeare’s comedies (or rather the plays of Shakespeare that are usually categorised as comedies), just as in the case with he tragedies, do not fit into any slot. They are generally identifiable as the comedies of Shakespeare in that they are full of fun, irony and dazzling wordplay. They also abound in disguises and mistaken identities with very convoluted plots that are difficult to follow (try relating the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to someone! ), with very contrived endings. Any attempt at describing these plays as a group can’t go beyond that superficial outline. The highly contrived endings are the clue to what these plays, all very different, are about. Take The Merchant of Venice for example – it has the love and relationship element. As usual there are two couples. One of the women is disguised as a man through most of the text – typical of Shakespearian comedy – but the other is in a very unpleasant situation – a young Jewess seduced away from her father by a shallow, rather dull young Christian. The play ends with the lovers all together, as usual, celebrating their love and the way things have turned out well for their group. That resolution has come about by completely destroying a man’s life. The Jew, Shylock is a man who has made a mistake and been forced to pay dearly for it by losing everything he values, including his religious freedom. It is almost like two plays – a comic structure with a personal tragedy imbedded in it. The ‘comedy’ is a frame to heighten the effect of the tragic elements. The Christians are selfish and shallow and cruel beyond imagination and with no conscience whatsoever. This is the use of the comic form to create something very deep and dark. Twelfth Night is similar – the humiliation of a man the in-group doesn’t like. As in The Merchant of Venice, his suffering is simply shrugged off in the highly contrived comic ending. Not one of these plays, no matter how full of life and love and laughter and joy, it may be, is without a darkness at its heart. Much Ado About Nothing , like Antony and Cleopatra (a ‘tragedy’ with a comic structure) is a miracle of creative writing. Shakespeare seamlessly joins an ancient mythological love story and a modern invented one, weaving them together into a very funny drama in which light and dark chase each other around like clouds and sunshine on a windy day, and the play threatens to fall into an abyss at any moment and emerges from that danger in a highly contrived ending once again. Like the ‘tragedies’ these plays defy categorisation. They all draw our attention to a range of human experience with all its sadness, joy, poignancy, tragedy, comedy, darkness, lightness, and its depths. Shakespeare’s Comedy Plays * All’s Well That Ends Well * The Comedy of Errors * As you Like It * Cymbeline * Love’s Labours Lost * Measure for Measure * The Merry Wives of Windsor * The Merchant of Venice * Twelfth Night * Two Gentlemen of Verona Shakespeare’s History Plays Just as Shakespeare’s ‘comedies’ have some dark themes and tragic situations while the ‘tragedies’ have some high comic moments, the Shakespeare’s ‘history’ plays contain comedy, tragedy and everything in between. All Shakespeare’s plays are dramas written for the entertainment of the public and Shakeseare’s intention in writing them was just that – to entertain. It wasn’t Shakespeare, but Shakespearian scholars, who categorised his plays into those areas of tragedy, comedy and history – as well as ‘problem‘ and ‘Roman‘. Unfortunately, our appreciation of the plays is often affected by our tendency to look at them in that limited way. Most of the plays have an historical element – the Roman plays, for example, are historical but scholars don’t refer to those Roman plays (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus etc.) ashistory plays. The plays that we normally mean when we refer to the ‘history’ plays are the ten plays that cover English history from the twelfth to the sixteenthcenturies, and the 1399-1485 period in particular. Each play is named after, and focuses on, the reigning monarch of the period. In chronological order of setting, these are King John, Richard II, Henry IV Parts Iand II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II and III, Richard III and Henry VIII, although Shakespeare didn’t write them in that order. The plays dramatise five generations of’ Medieval power struggles. For the most part they depict the Hundred Years War with France, from Henry V to Joan of Arc, and the Wars of the Roses, between York and Lancaster. We should never forget that they are works of imagination, based very loosely on historical figures. Shakespeare was a keen reader of history and was always looking for the dramatic impact of historical characters and events as he read. Today we tend to think of those historical figures in the way Shakespeare presented them. For example, we think of Richard III as an evil man, a kind of psychopath with a deformed body and a grudge against humanity. Historians can do whatever they like to set the record straight but Shakespeare’s Richard seems stuck in our culture as the real Richard III. Henry V, nee Prince Hal, is, in our minds, the perfect model of kingship after an education gained by indulgence in a misspent youth, and a perfect human being, but that is only because that’s the way Shakespeare chose to present him in the furtherance of the themes he wanted to develop and the dramatic story he wanted to tell. In fact, the popular perception of mediaval history as seen through the rulers of the period is pure Shakespeare. We have given ourselves entirely to Shakespeare’s vision. What would Bolingbroke (Henry IV) mean to us today? We would know nothing of him but because of Shakespeare’s plays he is an important, memorable and significant historical figure. The history plays are enormously appealing. Not only do they give insight into the political processes of Mediaval and Renaissance politics but they also offer a glimpse of life from the top to the very bottom of society – the royal court, the nobility, tavern life, brothels, beggars, everything. The greatest English actual and fictional hero, Henry V and the most notorious fictional bounder, Falstaff, are seen in several scenes together. Not only that, but those scenes are among the most entertaining, profound and memorable in the whole of English literature. That’s some achievement. Finally, although adding this at the end of the article and leaving it in the air, several questions are begged: what we see in the plays is not mediaval society at all, but Elizabethan and Jacobean society. Because although Shakespeare was writing ‘history’, using historical figures and events, what he was really doing was writing about the politics, entertainments and social situations of his own time. A major feature of Shakespeare’s appeal to his own generation was recognition, somethingShakespeare exploited relentlessly. List of Shakespeare’s History Plays, Henry IV Part 2,Henry V,Henry VI Part 1,Henry VI Part 2,Henry VI Part 3,Henry VIII,King John,Richard II,Richard III. 2) Tragedy; Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello. King Lear Play: Overview Resources The King Lear play is set in the BCE period, somewhere in England, usually thought of as being what is Leicestershire today. The action in the first two acts shifts among the castles of Lear, Gloucester, and those of Lear’s two daughters, Goneril and Regan. The rest of the action takes place in the frozen countryside, mainly on a blasted heath with violent weather, symbolising the state of Lear’s mind. Date written: 1603-1606 Genre classification: King Lear is regarded as a Tragedy Main characters in King Lear: King Lear is the king of pre-Christian Britain. He has three daughters – Goneril, Regan andCordelia. The Earl of Gloucester is a senior duke in Lear’s kingdom. He has two sons, Edmund, an illegitimate son and Edgar, a legitimate son. The Earl of Kent is a fiercely loyal nobleman, sticking by Lear in spite of Lear’s atrocious treatment of him. The Fool is the court jester, developed well beyond the jesters that appear in Shakespeare’s and other writers’ earlier plays. King Lear themes: This is a play about family – a thorough exploration of family relationships, particularly filial ingratitude, where the cruelty and disregard for their father by Goneril and Regan are contrasted with those of the love and loyalty of Cordelia in spite of the ruthless treatment she has experienced at her father’s hands. There is also a deep exploration oflegitimate versus illegitimate offspring. Good versus evil is presented through the evil of the two older sisters against the saintliness of the youngest. Other themes are those of old age and authority. and attitudes to those; pain, justice, and the ever present theme in Shakespeare’s plays: appearance and reality. King Lear Plot Summary The Earl of Gloucester introduces his illegitimate son, Edmund, to the Earl of Kent at court. Lear, King of Britain, enters. Now that he is old Lear has decided to abdicate, retire, and divide his kingdom between his three daughters. Each will receive a portion of the kingdom according to how much they love him. Goneril, Duchess ofAlbany, the oldest, and Regan, Duchess of Cornwall, the second, both speak eloquently and receive their portion but Cordelia, the youngest, can say nothing. Her declaration that she loves him according to a daughter’s duty to a father enrages him and she is disowned. One of Cordelia’s suitors, the Duke of Burgundy, rejects her once she is dowerless but the King of France understands her declaration and takes her as his wife, while the Earl of Kent is banished for taking Cordelia’s part against the King. The kingdom is shared between Goneril and Regan. Lear tells them that he intends to live alternately with each of them. Meanwhile, Edmund is determined to be recognised as a rightful son of Gloucester and persuades his father that his legitimate brother, Edgar, is plotting against Gloucester’s life, using a deceitful device. Edmund warns Edgar that his life is in danger. Edgar flees and disguises himself as a beggar. Goneril becomes increasingly exasperated by the behaviour of Lear’s hundred followers, who are disturbing life at Albany’s castle. Kent has returned in disguise and gains a place as a servant to Lear, supporting the King against Goneril’s ambitious servant, Oswald. Lear eventually curses Goneril and leaves to move in with Regan. Edmund acts as a messenger between the sisters and is courted by each in turn. He persuades Cornwall that Gloucester is an enemy because, through loyalty to his King, Gloucester assists Lear and his devoted companion, the Fool, when they are turned away by Regan and told to return to Goneril’s household. Despairing of his daughters and regretting his rejection of Cordelia, Lear goes out into the wilderness during a fierce storm. He goes mad. Gloucester takes them into a hut for shelter and seeks the aid of Kent to get them away to the coast, where Cordelia has landed with a French army to fight for her father against her sisters and their husbands. Edgar, pretending to be mad, has also taken refuge in the shelter and the Fool, the mad king and the beggar are companions until Edgar finds his father wandering and in pain. Gloucester has been blinded by Regan and Cornwall for his traitorous act in helping Lear. Cornwall has been killed by a servant after blinding Gloucester but Regan continues to rule with Edmund’s help. Not recognised by his father, Edgar leads him to the coast and helps him, during the journey, to come to an acceptance of his life. Gloucester meets the mad Lear on Dover beach, near Cordelia’s camp and, with Kent’s aid, Lear is rescued and re-united with Cordelia. Gloucester, although reconciled with Edgar, dies alone. The French forces are defeated by Albany’s army led by Edmund, and Lear and Cordelia are captured. Goneril has poisoned Regan in jealous rivalry for Edmund’s attention but Edgar, disguised now as a loyal knight, challenges Edmund to a duel and wounds him mortally. Seeing no way out, Goneril kills herself. The dying Edmund confesses his crimes, but it is too late to save Cordelia from the hangman. Lear’s heart breaks as he carries the body of his beloved daughter in his arms, and Albany and Edgar are left to re-organise the kingdom. Hamlet Play: Overview Resources for Shakespeare’s Hamlet Shakespeare sets his Hamlet play in the cold, dark isolation of Elsinor a bleak, snow-covered region of Denmark. It’s the royal court of the King of Denmark. The atmosphere is established on the cold, windy battlements of the castle. Most of the action takes place in theinterior rooms and corridors of the castle and one scene is set in a nearby cemetery. Date written: 1601 Genre classification: Hamlet is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Main characters in Hamlet: Hamlet, the son of the recently murdered King is the heir to the throne. Hehas had the crown stolen from him by his father’s villainous brother, Claudius whom thelate king’s widow, Gertrude – Hamlet’s mother – has married. Hamlet’s father’s ghost tellshim on the battlements that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet is continuously spied on by Polonius, the garrulous Lord Chamberlain of Denmark. His eavesdropping results in his being accidentally killed by Hamlet. Ophelia is Polonius’ daughter. Led on to a possible relationship by Hamlet, then rejected, she commits suicide by drowning. Her brother, Laertesseeks revenge by plotting with Claudius to kill Hamlet. Other characters are Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, in whom he confides, Rosencranz and Guidenstern, Hamlet’s fellow university students, who spy on Hamlet for Claudius, a troupe of strolling actors and a pair of gravediggers. See a full list of characters in Hamlet. Hamlet Themes: The play falls into the genre of the Revenge Tragedy, which was very popular in the Jacobean era with its taste for violence and intrigue. Revenge is the most obvious, and one of the main, themes of the play. Although explorations of the idea of appearance and reality are present in all Shakespeare’s plays, it’s more fully developed in Hamlet, with all it’s plotting, intrigues, deceit and hypocrisy. Other themes are the question of what a human being is; death and mortality and suicide. In common with several other Shakespeare plays, there is a clear Christian parallel. Hamlet Plot Summary Prince Hamlet’s student friend, Horatio, goes to the battlements of Denmark’s Elsinore castle late at night to meet the guards. They tell him about a ghost they have seen that resembles the late king, Hamlet. It reappears and they decide to tell the prince. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, having become king, has now married Hamlet’s widowed mother, Gertrude. In the court, after envoys are sent to Norway, the prince is dissuaded from returning to university. Hamlet still mourns his father’s death and hearing of the ghost from Horatio he determines to see it for himself. Laertes, son of the courtier, Polonius, departs for France, warning his sister, Ophelia, against thinking too much of Hamlet’s attentions. The ghost appears to Hamlet and tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. The prince swears vengeance and his friends are sworn to secrecy as Hamlet decides to feign madness while he tests the truth of the ghost’s allegations. He rejects Ophelia, as Claudius and Polonius spy on him seeking to find a reason for his sudden strange behaviour. Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, former student friends of Hamlet, are summoned by Claudius and their arrival coincides with that of a group of travelling actors. The prince knows these players well and they rehearse together before arranging to present Hamlet’s choice of play before the king and queen, which will include scenes close to the circumstances of the old king’s death. At the performance Hamlet watches closely as Claudius is provoked into interrupting the play and storming out, resolving to send the prince away to England. Hamlet is summoned by his distressed mother and, on  the way he spares Claudius whom he sees kneeling, attempting to pray. To kill him while he is praying would send his soul to heaven rather than to the hell he deserves. Polonius hides in Gertrude’s room to listen to the conversation, but Hamlet detects movement as he upbraids his mother. He stabs the concealing tapestry and so kills the old man. The ghost reappears, warning his son not to delay revenge, nor to upset his mother. As the army of Norway’s King Fortinbras crosses Denmark to attack Poland, Hamlet is sent to England, ostensibly as an ambassador, but he discovers Claudius’s plan to have him killed. Outwitting this plot Hamlet returns alone, sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths in his stead. During Hamlet’s absence Ophelia goes mad as a result of her father’s death and she is drowned. Hamlet returns and meets Horatio in the graveyard. With the arrival of Ophelia’s funeral Hamlet confronts Laertes who, after attempting a revolt against Claudius, has taken his father’s place at the court. A duel is arranged between Hamlet and Laertes at which Claudius has plotted for Hamlet to die either on a poisoned rapier, or from poisoned wine. The plans go wrong and both Laertes and Hamlet are wounded, while Gertrude unwittingly drinks from the poisoned cup. Hamlet, in his death throes, kills Claudius, and Horatio is left to explain the truth to the new king, Fortinbras, who returns, victorious, from the Polish wars. Macbeth Play: Overview Resources The main source for Shakespeare’s Macbeth play was Holinshed’s Chronicles. Holinshed in turn took the account from a Scottish history, Scotorum Historiae, written in 1527 by Hector Boece. Shakespeare, flattering James 1, referred to the king’s own books, Discovery of Witchcraft and Daemonologie, written in 1599. Some of the main ideas of Macbeth are Nature, Manhood and Light versus Dark. In Macbeth, the murder of a king by one of his subjects is seen as unnatural and the images ofthe play reflect this theme, with disruptions of nature, like storms – and events such as where the horses turn on their grooms and bite them. In Macbeth Shakespeareexplores what it is to be a man. Lady Macbeth accuses Macbeth of being unmanly because of his hesitation in killing Duncan, but Macbeth says that it’s unmanly for a man to kill his king. Shakespeare plays with that paradox. Duncan is a good king and a good man, and he is surrounded by images of light. Macbethand Lady Macbeth turn their surroundings into a picture of hell, blanketed in darkness. Those images of light and dark interact throughout the play. Traditionally, there is a curse on Macbeth. Actors and productioncrews perpetuate the superstition by avoiding using the play’s title, Macbeth, which is considered bad luck. It has to be referred to as â€Å"The Scottish Play†. Date written: 1605 Read the full Macbeth text Genre classification: Macbeth is regarded as a tragedy. Macbeth Characters: The hero, Macbeth, the Thane of Glamys and later Thane of Cawdor, murders the king, Duncan, and is elected as king in his place. Lady Macbeth, his wife, is his co-conspirator in the murder. Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalblain, themselves in danger, flee. Banquo, Macbeth’s friend, is also murdered by Macbeth. Macduff, the Thane of Fife, suspects Macbeth and his whole family is massacred. Macduff is the man who finally kills Macbeth. There are three witches, who plant the idea of murdering Duncan in Macbeth’s mind, and they lead him on to his destruction. Their queen is Hecate. Other characters are the Scottlish noblemen, Lennox and Ross, and the English general, Siward and his son, Young Siward. See a full list of Macbeth characters. Themes in Macbeth: The main themes in Macbeth are ambition and guilt. Macbeth’s ‘overweening ambition leads him to kill Duncan and from then on until the end of the play he suffers unendurable guilt. Another theme is that of appearance and reality. Of all Shakespeare’s characters, Macbeth has the most difficulty in distinguishing between what is real and what is not. Macbeth Plot Summary King Duncan’s generals, Macbeth and Banquo, encounter three strange women on a bleak Scottish moorland on their way home from quelling a rebellion. The women prophesy that Macbeth will be given the title of Thane of Cawdor and then become King of Scotland, while Banquo’s heirs shall be kings. The generals want to hear more but the weird sisters disappear. Duncan creates Macbeth Thane of Cawdor in thanks for his success in the recent battles and then proposes to make a brief visit to Macbeth’s castle. Lady Macbeth receives news from her husband of the prophecy and his new title and she vows to help him become king by any means she can. Macbeth’s return is followed almost at once by Duncan’s arrival. The Macbeths plot together and later that night, while all are sleeping and after his wife has given the guards drugged wine, Macbeth kills the King and his guards. Lady Macbeth leaves the bloody daggers beside the dead king. Macduff arrives and when the murder is discovered Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain flee, fearing for their lives, but they are nevertheless blamed for the murder. Macbeth is elected King of Scotland, but is plagued by feelings of guilt and insecurity. He arranges for Banquo and his son, Fleance to be killed, but the boy escapes the murderers. At a celebratory banquet Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo and disconcerts the courtiers with his strange manner. Lady Macbeth tries to calm him but is rejected. Macbeth seeks out the witches and learns from them that he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to his castle, Dunsinane. They tell him that he need fear no-one born of woman, but also that the Scottish succession will come from Banquo’s son. Macbeth embarks on a reign of terror and many, including Macduff’s family are murdered, while Macduff himself has gone to join Malcolm at the court of the English king, Edward. Malcolm and Macduff decide to lead an army against Macbeth. Macbeth feels safe in his remote castle at Dunsinane until he is told that Birnam Wood is moving towards him. The situation is that Malcolm’s army is carrying branches from the forest as camouflage for their assault on the castle. Meanwhile Lady Macbeth, paralysed with guilt, walks in her sleep and gives away her secrets to a listening doctor. She kills herself as the final battle commences. Macduff challenges Macbeth who, on learning his adversary is the child of a Ceasarian birth, realises he is doomed. Macduff triumphs and brings the head of the traitor to Malcolm who declares peace and is crowned king. Othello Play: Overview Resources The Othello play begins in Venice where there is a wealthy, well ordered, well behaved community, controlled by strong laws and established conventions.

Cause And Treatments Of Typhoid Fever Infections Biology Essay

Cause And Treatments Of Typhoid Fever Infections Biology Essay The burden and rigourness of typhoid fever infections caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is a substantial universal populace concern, particularly in developing countries (Demczuk, Finley, Nadon, Spencer, Gilmour NG, 2010). It is a systemic infection primarily involving the alimentary tract (Christopher, 2002). It has been found that humans are the only natural reservoirs of S. Typhi, with contagion occurring through consumption of faecally contaminated food and water (Corner Schwartz, 2005) or in other words, it occurs where there is substandard water supply and sanitation. It has been estimated by WHO that the annual global incidence of typhoid fever is at 0.3% (Demczuk et.,al, 2010). It has been estimated that annually 6, 00,000 deaths occur from enteric fever worldwide. S. Typhi infections may cause symptoms like bacteraemia, fever, headache, malaise, abdominal distress, diarrhoea and rose colored spots which contains the infecting organism (Chamberlain, 2006). Typhoid fever is preventable through vaccination prior to travelling to areas where typhoid is common and careful consumption of food. Treatment with appropriate antibiotics can also prevent complications. S.typhi first of all invades the alimentary canal by ingestion then via the lymphatic system and the thoracic duct into the stream of blood. This first septicaemic phase leads to infection of the reticulo-endothelial system and the gall bladder. When the infection of the gall bladder occurs, there is discharge of organisms into the intestine, with heavy infection of the Peyers patches and septicaemia- and the onset of symptoms (Sleigh Timbury, 1998). Most of the symptoms which are caused by S.typhi can be ascribed to the inflammation caused by its lipopolysaccharide as it does not have any specific known endotoxins. After an incubation period of 10-14 days, early symptoms like fever, headache and respiratory symptoms appear. Then, mild abdominal pain with either diarrhoea or constipation occurs. After that, fever increases in a stepwise fashion. Without treatment, the patient may eventually lapse into a stupor and the problem may persist for 4 to 6 weeks. A serious problem that is secondary invasion of the intestine from the gall bladder which can cause perforation of the intestine. In 15% of untreated cases, death may also occur. Typhoid fever can be diagnosed by the laboratory tests to find the bacteria in the blood or faeces of an infected person. Illness is usually characterized by fever, loss of appetite, lethargy and change in bowel habit. Constipation is common in the initial stages but diarrhea can also occur. The diagnosis of enteric fever relies on the isolation of S.typhi from the patient. Specimens include faeces, blood and urine. The culture used for blood and urine is MacConkey medium in which enrichment and the selective media are not necessary. Blood culture is positive in more than 80% of patients in the first week of illness. Faeces should also be cultured especially at 2-4 weeks after onset of symptoms, when seeding of the kidneys and secondary infection of the intestine occurs. For faeces, indicator medium is used for non-lactose-fermenting colonies and selective and enrichment media for others (Sleigh Timbury, 1998). Identification can be done by the Biochemical reactions (API test). In this test, unlike other salmonellae, S.typhi produces no gas on fermentation of sugars. In serological identification, first of all preliminary diagnosis with salmonella polyvalent H and O antisera is done and after that final identification is done from where it is send to the Reference Typing Laboratory. Phage typing is also useful in identifying the different types of S.typhi for epidemiological identification into the source of outbreaks. Serum antibodies to the organisms can be detected by an agglutination test known as Widal test, but positive results must be interpreted with care where past exposure or vaccination are possibility. A fourfold rise in titre between acute and covalescent sera is diagnostic. The salmonella bacterium resides in the human gut. The source of infection is the carriers or the cases that excrete the organism: excretion in faeces and less commonly in the urine. The infection continues for about two months after the acute illness. The route of infection is through the ingestion of water or food which is contaminated by sewage or via the hands of a carrier. Direct spread from case to case is rare. Only a small number of these bacteria can cause typhoid fever. This is the main reason that water-borne infection is common, despite the dilution of organisms. The following are High risk groups for developing Typhoid Fever: Travelers with individualistic lifestyle and those are intending prolonged travel to areas where there is typhoid fever. Former migrants from developing countries who are visiting their parent countries. Those with no acid or low acid concentrations in their stomach such as post surgery or with regular use of antacids and medication to reduce stomach acidity. Those with sever or ongoing disease may need particular advice about typhoid fever and where the intended travel is to be Travelers to the Indian Subcontinent Medical personnel, foreign aid workers and military personnel assigned in developing countries. Outbreaks of typhoid fever are often explosive- sometimes involving large number of people. There are two main types of outbreak: Water-borne: in which the organisms from the sewage acts as a carrier and pollutes the drinking water, e.g. the outbreaks in Croydon in 1937 and in Zermatt in 1963. Food- borne: in which food becomes contaminated via polluted water or via the hands of the carriers. Typhoid Mary, possibly most famous carrier, worked as a cook in USA and caused number of outbreaks. Tinned food may also become contagious during canning- the large outbreak in Aberdeen in 1964 was due to a tin containing corned beef which had been cooled in water contaminated by sewage; bacteria entered the can through tiny holes in the metal casing. Shellfish often grow in estuaries, where the water may be contaminated by sewage: if it is eaten uncooked they may cause infection. Milk or cream products, contaminated through the handling of the carriers, have caused outbreaks of typhoid fever. Other food products like meat, dried and frozen foods, dried coconut have also been responsible for infection. Antibiotics are a type of medication effective in treating infections caused by bacteria based on signs and symptoms. Oral treatment with chloramphenicol, ampicillin, cotrimoxazole or ciprofloxacin is generally effective and should be maintained for 14 days to reduce the possibility. But resistive strains to above antibiotics have also been reported, particularly on Indian subcontinent (Lee Bishop, 2010). For chronic carriers, long term therapy with ampicillin or ciprofloxacin may be effective but, if not, cholecystectomy (removal of gall bladder) may be warranted. Chloramphenicol is a bacteriostatic antibiotic with wide spectrum of activity against gram-positive and gram negative cocci and bacillus. It binds to the 50S subunit of the ribosome and inhibits bacterial protein synthesis. Ampicillin is a broad spectrum semi-synthetic derivative of aminopenicillin that inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis by binding to penicillin binding proteins and inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis, a critical component of bacterial cell wall. Ciprofloxacin is a synthetic broad spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic which inhibits bacterial DNA gyrase, an enzyme essential for DNA replication. This agent is more active against Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria. It is very difficult to eradicate S.typhii from the gall bladder. Antibiotic treatment is effective in curing some carriers, but still to some extent the infection persists and they become long-term permanent carriers. Promising results have been given by ciprofloxacin. For the high risk groups, two effective typhoid vaccines: the oral live vaccine (Ty 21a) and the injectable Vi capsular polysaccharide vaccine is highly recommended. The live attenuated vaccine Ty 21a is a strain of S.typhi. It is indicated for those who travel to or living in areas where typhoid is an endemic and where the health care staff is at risk. It is administered in enteric-coated capsules orally in three doses on alternate days. Some mild adverse reactions may also persist like nausea, vomiting etc. This vaccine is quiet efficient but may be less durable. The other type of vaccine is a classic type killed vaccine which has now been replaced by other preparations but still it is being widely used. It contains heat killed phenol preserved suspension of S.typhi. It is injected and two doses need to be consumed 4-6 weeks apart and booster doses need to be taken every 3 years. In consuming this, some local and general reactions are common which vanishes after 36 hr from the onse t. In New Zealand, the injectable Vi Polysaccharide vaccine (Vi antigen) is recommended for all adult children over the age of 2 years travelling to areas where there is questionable sanitation. It is known that children under the age of 2 years may show a sub-optimal response to polysaccharide antigen vaccine. It gives approximately 70% protection against the disease. There are two products available in New Zealand and Australia: Typherix (GlaxoSmithKline) and Typhim Vi (MSD [NZ] Ltd). They are interchangeable. The infection prevention and control team plays a vital role in preventing cross infection and prevention of hospital acquired infection. In order to ensure that infection is not caused, the surveillance team should keep highest level of vigilance in which phenomenon like proper aseptic techniques, hand hygiene practice should be followed. Furthermore, following preventive measures should be followed: Wash and dry hands thoroughly after using the toilet or changing nappies. Hands should be washed for 20 seconds and dried for a further 20 seconds using a clean cloth or disposable towel. Soiled clothing and linen should be washed with hot soapy water separately from that of other family members. Items such as face cloths and towels should be kept for personal use. A person with Typhoid infection should avoid preparing food for others in the family until they are no longer infectious. In households where a person is recovering from typhoid, toilet seats, flush handles, wash basin taps and toilet door handles should be disinfected daily using a hypochlorite based solution. Ideally the solution should be in contact with the surface of the object for at least  ½ hour. Drink bottled, purified or carbonated water for drinking and cleaning teeth. Make sure that bought bottled water is appropriately sealed; regular water (sea level) should be brought to boiling point for one minute before it is safe to drink. Avoid ice in drinks and remember that refreshing ice blocks and flavored ices may be made with contaminated water. Foods should be thoroughly cooked and served piping hot. Be very wary of food sold by street vendors. Avoid raw seafood and shellfish; even though they may have been preserved with vinegar, lemon or lime juice. Choose raw vegetables and fruits that a person can peel himself. Avoid salads unless they have been made by own. Do not forget to wash hands with soap or hand cleaner first and not to eat the peelings. Antimicrobial resistance surveillance is also a significant activity which needs to be practiced. Moreover, as the economies of the developing countries grow the sanitary conditions of currently typhoid- endemic countries will improve. Due to that, number o f typhoid fever cases will lessen. However, in order to expedite the elimination of typhoid fever, Member States and WHO will strengthen their power for typhoid fever surveillance by improving laboratory-based surveillance. Intersectoral collaboration at both national and international levels will be essential if the disease needs to be controlled in endemic countries. In conclusion we have discussed in brief the organism- S.typhi, the laboratory diagnosis, its epidemiology, antibiotic treatment and finally the role of the infection control and prevention team in controlling the infection.

Charles Dickens - Great Expectations :: Great Expectations Essays

The portrayal of society in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is that of a symbol of contemporary British civilization, with Miss Havisham representing the epitome of such. By utilizing this particular character as the conduit between social body and physical body, the author successfully blends together the kinship inherent to these aspects of British life. Miss Havisham is instrumental in establishing the link between the traditional Victorian society and the manner in which women finally gained significant changes in their investments. The economic health of society at the time of Great Expectations can easily be determined by the manner in which Miss Havisham’s personal history of poor investment strategy reflects the community’s somewhat fragile situation. Also pertinent to the social aspect of Dickens’ Great Expectations is the relationship between younger and older generations, as effectively portrayed between Miss Havisham and eight-year-old Philip Pirrip. Upon meeting this rather outrageous representation of womanhood, the boy – in a child’s infinite innocence – he is compelled to separate himself from what he deems is a strange and unusual existence of alcohol. To him, the rotting barrels that once housed unlimited supplies of beer were symbolic of how he viewed Miss Havisham, a fermentative essence that had long since dried up from disuse and moribund old age. In comprising these thoughts, the young boy was left with the conclusion that such descriptive characterization is both frightening and hostile, choosing to abide by his inner instinct and institute avoidance. "Better not try to brew beer there now, or it would turn out sour, boy; don't you think so?" "It looks like it, miss." "Not that anybody means to try," she added, "for that's all done with, and the place will stand as idle as it is, till it falls. As to strong beer, there's enough of it in the cellars already, to drown the Manor House" (Dickens PG). Clearly representative of an impoverished society is that of Miss Havisham’s forsaken brewery, left in its decaying state with barrels and their â€Å"sour remembrance of better days† (Dickens PG). Indeed, the decrepit condition of the brewery is indicative of a more affluent class of social acceptance that once existed, only to ultimately give way to the likes of Miss Havisham’s degraded reality. The life that has left the brewery can be equated to the life that has been lost from society, as Miss Havisham has led an existence rife with humiliation, deception and heartache.

What is recruitment and selection?

What is recruitment and selection? [In other words, the process where an organization collect a number of people who met requirements and qualified for that organization] Selection is†¦.. During both processes R&S, an organization has to justify why they are going to choose particular methods to recruit and select people in a capable pool, that is to say, what elements or what under considerations which they use to influence their decisions before recruiting and selecting peopleAttraction and Retention The definition of recruitment is the process of generating a pool of capable people to apply an organization for employment. therefore this means that there is a need to generate people’s interest to apply for the job. This means that people have choice to choose This is why an organization has to consider this strategic choice. To be precise, attraction means†¦. For the internal sources this is associated with retention which meansWhen considering attraction and reten tion strategy, an organization might first of all apply the concept of Fitting the person to the environment, organization As this diagram illustrates In an organization Whereas HR plocies will be designed to achevive particular organizational targets and goals, those policies also provide an opportunity for individual needs to emerge and be satisfied. This view assumes that a fit between a person and the environment can be found so that commitment and performance are enhance (Kristof, 1996).This not only gives a high performance advantages but also lead to â€Å"retention† Criticism However, commentator have Doubted whether such mutuality could develop on the basis of equality because organizational need would always be superiority. In typical form of profit-organistaion, the issue of profits maybe considered outweight individual needs. Competencies Another important element when considering attraction and retention strategy in recruitment and selection is to set out, what i s it referred as â€Å"competencies† which are developed within the organization.A set of behavior patterns that the incumbent needs to bring to a position in order to perform its tasks an functions with competence. (The ability, skills and knowledge obtained by candidates and relevantly required and matched with organizational goals and targets) For instance, In large financial services organisations in the UK set out its competencies for example self-control †¦. etc If we look at Lloyds TBS’s, one of large financial services, it provides its vision and projected image of its organisation that

Assertiveness 5 Essays

Assertiveness 5 Essays Assertiveness 5 Essay Assertiveness 5 Essay Assertiveness is a skill that that will help everyone in their everyday communications. It will get you the things that you need without compromising the needs of others. In this journal entry I will be talking about my usual communication patterns when it comes to assertiveness, Ill explain what I learned during the in class assignment, and finally Ill give an example of a situation where I needed to use assertiveness and how that turned out. All my life I have been terribly non-assertive. I would describe myself as a pleaser, constantly putting others needs ahead of my own. The way I viewed things was if I try to make myself happy then Im happy, but if I do things for someone else then theyre happy and they can do something for someone else and they can do something for someone else and so on until everyones happy. I do think that with practice though I could be an assertive person. When we practiced assertiveness in class I was a little uncomfortable with the process because the idea of of putting my needs ahead of others needs is kind of a new concept for me. I did learn that even though I may be a little uneasy at first, I need this skill because my needs are important too. I do need to practice the sound byte because it was difficult for me to repeat it while staying on task. I realized that that was true when I tried assertiveness in a real situation. At my apartment all the bills are in my name so I just pay them and have my roommates pay me. One roommate doesnt always pay me on time though resulting in an overdraft fee when I pay the bill. I sat down with him to try to solve the problem by saying; James, I really appreciate the trust you have in me to take on the responsibility of the bills. Im feeling a little frustrated because I dont always get your money on time so it leads to an overdraft fee making me feel financially stressed. Id really like to fix this so it doesnt lead to any harsh feelings and so I can live more comfortably. What do you think we can do about this? To which he responded something along the lines of; Im sorry but I forget sometimes. There is where I shouldve repeated the sound byte but I just started giving solutions to help him with remembering. The skill did work even though I didnt do it exactly the way I should. Jesse did point out that the conversation was a little weird because I dont normally talk like that. I think that for this reason it would be easier to practice this skill with people I dont know because they arent used to my communication patterns. Now that I know how to be assertive I am looking forward to seeing how it feels to get what I want. I will focus on realizing that my needs are important too and I deserve what I want. The more I practice the more comfortable Ill feel and who knows, maybe I will be able to save even more money with assertiveness.