Mother of the Quran

Surah fateha is the first chapter of the quran. Its described as â€Å"Mother of the Quran†. It has a great importance for muslims. We cay say it Opening of the quran. This is the surah which we recite daily in Salaah. We start our namaz from this surah. It has just 7 ayats but its most important. It has a great significance in our lives. It's the one of the few surahs which we memorize in our childhood.Theme of Surah fateha Allah delivers a great message for all muslims and man kind also that only Allah (S.W.T). No one deserves much love than Allah because he loves us, he is merciful, he made everything for us to be alive, enjoy, eat and think. He can forgive us if we do tooba from sincere heart. No one can forgive u that much as he. Surah initiates that love allah, follow allah, come closer to him to get reward. If we stay away from him then we can receive anger from him as its mentioned in last ayat. We can't even imagine how much he loves us. Allah describe himself in three verses. â€Å"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all that exists. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Owner of the Day of Judgement.†Surah fateha has so many virtues 2. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said Surah al-Fatiha is†The Mother of the Quran, the Mother of the Book, the Seven Oft-Repeated Verses and the Great recitation.† (Tirmidhi) Prophet himself said it's a great recitation. Which shows that its considered as most influential chapter of quran.Assignment part b:Tafseer of verses of Surah fatihaFirst ayat:†In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.We start surah fatiha with the name of allah. Only with the name we start our every work. We usually do our daily work with this ayat and its so important for every muslim. Allah is the one who gives benefits to us. We ask him and he listens us. If we recite this ayat Allah (S.W.T) protects us from shaitaan. We can't imagine how many times he can forgive us. If we apologize to him with sincere heart then he never disappoints us. Second ayat:†Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds†No one deserves as much praise as he. He is praiseworthy. If we do mistakes he helps us out. He provides us shelter, Food, Happiness, success and at last death also. The one who made such clouds, mountains, rivers, oceans, Beauty of pakistan's northern areas really deserves infinite praise. Third ayat:†The Beneficent, the Merciful†Al-rehmaan and raheem, Allah indeed a rehmaan. He is powerful. He has control on everything in earth. Nothing can't be happened without his consult. He can punish sinners like nation of Shoaib(a.s). On the other side, He can forgive everyone. Forth ayat:†Master of the Day of Judgment†When Allah tells about his mercy, then at the same he warns sinners about day of judgment. Those who did sins all in their life would be punished. Its better to do what Allah as lord of this world wants from us. We must not do that acts which can effect humanity, humans etc. We should keep in mind that the wrong acts we are doing can be dangerous for us. He has right to punish us.Fifth ayat:†We worship You alone, and beg You alone for help.†Allah is the only one whom we workship. He is the only one who created this universe. He is the one who can turn tables around. We can only ask help for him and he will help us out Inshallah. We don't workship anyone except him. If we go for any mission, we should recite this ayat.Sixth ayat:†Guide us in the straight path† We always ask him to give us right path because we are sinking into river of sins. If we go to wrong path then no one can show us right path except him. We should always ask him to show us right path no matters how much we do good deeds. Seventh ayat:†The path of those whom You have favored. Not of those who have earned Your anger and nor of those who have gone astray†We say ya rab show us path of those who were closer to u, who got blessing of u, not path of those who refused to accept your orders, got anger of u rather than blessings. We ask for better path.Assignment part c:Surah fatiha has a great impact on muslims life. The lord of us, the food provider of us, Allah who has just sympathy for us. If we read this surah we realize that how much Allah loves us, how great he is. This surah make us realize that if we ask for apology from him with sincere heart then Inshallah he will never reject it. If we read this surah we realize that he Is telling sinners that I can forgive u and I am merciful but at the same time, he warn us from â€Å"day of judgement† when everyone who did wrong with humanity, never accepted Allah orders. This is a reminder for us about day of judgement. When we recite this surah in every prayer, this makes our relationship with Allah more stronger because this surah has deep meanings, tells us about God mercy.

The Health Sector In Bahrain Health And Social Care Essay

The chief intent of this study is to garner some concrete informations about the wellness sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The study chiefly high spots and addresses two of the most significant subjects, like Employability accomplishments and accomplishments spread in the wellness sector. Furthermore, the study will place the functions of the employees and the impact that they have left in the wellness community. Additionally, a quantitative information about the wellness sector will be elaborated through an up-dated statistical diagram. This study will educate people and do them aware about the wellness sector and promote them to derive accomplishments for success in this of import sector.Footings of MentionThis study was requested from several coachs in the university, chiefly from the Academic Skills, IT, and the English coach. The study is due on the 17th of June ; this study will finally be evaluated and assessed by the abovementioned coachs.MethodThe procedure was chiefly done through an accurate Internet use ( authorities web site, educational web site ) . Besides some information was picked up from booklets of the Ministry of wellness every bit good as from local newspapers. The information gathered was later confirmed by a personal meeting with public functionary.FindingssHealth sector in BahrainThe wellness sector is an indispensable fundamental for all states ; this system should be served and provided even if a state is non good developed. Every state should reform its basic wellness resources to suit its public demands of wellness attention demands by offering full best available installations i.e. Hospitals, private nursing place, medical and dental pattern work, ambulance transit, complementary medical specialty and other different human wellness activities. In Bahrain the health care sector has been identified as an untapped economic country, whereby it has opened doors for international companies that can distribute wellness attention services and merchandises in a wider scope. www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictionary? health+care+sectorServicess of wellness sector in BahrainThe Kingdom of Bahrain is working towards making a healthy state by kick offing medical services and supplying a comprehensive health care system to its public. In drumhead the authorities of Bahrain has fundamentally implemented a strategic educational program, to develop this sector by leting Bahraini pupils to analyze abroad and pattern their profession. Another major subscriber to the docket is the medical college of wellness scientific disciplines ‘ which is edifice and developing a future coevals of professionals, who are equipped with advanced and latest cognition. This college patterns the latest surgical developments such as keyhole surgery and conveyance surgery. Furthermore, full medical health care installations are available through private and public systems, which include: Three full service private infirmaries staffed by both Bahraini and non Bahraini professionals ‘ covering with the diagnosing and intervention of disease. Four authorities infirmaries 19 authorities wellness centres Five authorities pregnancy infirmaries Numerous private forte clinics The Health system in Bahrain provides besides full insurance coverage for both private and public sectors, ( BIME staff 2004 ) .The betterment of wellness sector in BahrainBahrain has achieved success in supplying an impressive wellness system. Harmonizing to Mr. Abdul Hakeem Ali Alhayki, the wellness sector in Bahrain grew drastically and evidently because of the important addition of the state ‘s population, which later increased the figure of private and authorities infirmaries during the past twosome of old ages, to supply and suit more medical services. ( personal communicating, May 6, 2010 ) . The colleges of wellness scientific discipline have graduated nurses and extremely qualified professionals who were recruited instantly in assorted infirmaries in the land. In add-on, Bahrain has an efficient inoculation plans which keeps catching diseases under control and the infective diseases of childhood have been about eradicated. The development of the wellness services in Bahrain were besides encouraged by its close Nabors ( Arab GCC states ) Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, which have contributed in sums of us $ 50 million and us $ 58 million in 2003 and 2004, to fundamentally better the medical system in the part, ( WHO 2010 ) . As a consequence of the wellness development, the citizens of Bahrain are holding an advanced degree of wellness services today, and the life mean anticipation for both sexes have increased dramatically from being 58 old ages old during the period 1965-1971 to 73.98 old ages in 2004 ( 71.52 old ages for males and 76.51 old ages for females ) . Health talkers in Bahrain are considered to be the best in the part, as this information was officially authenticated by the universe ‘s wellness organisation, ( BIME staff 2004 ) .Skills spread in the wellness sector in BahrainThe wellness sector in Bahrain demands for more extended alterations, as the economic system and labour market in Bahrain is turning of course. Therefore, this sector requires a batch of attention to supply greater wellness services non merely for Bahrain but besides to neighbour gulf states and chiefly to keep the county ‘s future model traveling frontward. However, this sector has a batch of accomplishments lacks that need to be tackled and rectified consequently. Harmonizing to Mr. Abdul Hakeem Ali Alhayki, some of the identified accomplishments spreads in this sector are as follow: Disaster Management skills – including ambulatory and exigency services accomplishments. The Medical Sector in peculiar faces deficit of nursing accomplishments. Cardinal Skills – for illustration Arabic and English communicating accomplishments are required, ( personal communicating, May 6, 2010 ) . To cast more visible radiation on the above mentioned facts, I believe that the wellness sector growing chances in Bahrain could be impacted by a deficit of nursing Skills, harmonizing to the Royal College of sawboness in Ireland, one of the universe ‘s prima international medical schools. The Bahraini wellness sector is turning quickly but this growing could be affected by the deficiency of trained nurses from national populations. Therefore, the Kingdom of Bahrain has late opened this college to guarantee that the Medical University in Bahrain covers a comprehensive platform and to efficaciously back up the development of this underserved accomplishment. ( BIME staff 2004 ) . Furthermore, there is a strong demand for medical professionals to acquire sensitized with simple elements in their profession. Doctors should fundamentally cognize how to manage patients with better hearing accomplishments, interpersonal accomplishments, and communicating accomplishments. There is no uncertainty that they are first-class at their proficient accomplishments ( i.e. medical profession accomplishments ) , but on the other manus they should larn how to manage patients by utilizing basic cardinal communicating accomplishments i.e. ( Arabic & A ; English ) . As patients come from assorted states and effectual hearing will assist to understand the job better. ( Soft accomplishments in medical, 2008 ) The chief causes of those obstructions and challenges are being addressed by authorities functionaries, as they are cognizant of those cardinal challenges and they are seeking to turn to them through their strategic program, which was implemented in 2007-2010, such as: â€Å" Stagnating rewards. Standards of life. Low accomplishments development. Expansion of the lower category. Business public presentation. Wayss of implementing enforcement and standardisation. † ( Gulf daily intelligence, 2010 )Occupations in the wellness sectorThe director in the wellness sectorMentioning to Mr. Abdul Hakeem Ali Alhayki, said that director is the individual responsible of directing and pull offing his employees, supplying and forming preparation plans for the staff to be effectual and efficient. For illustration, a nurse director supervises and evaluates employees, and works with patients to supply aid for wellness attention ( personal communicating, May 6, 2010 ) . Directors ‘ occupation involves interaction and communicating with others with a immense figure of issues under hard fortunes. Besides the director has other missions and responsibilities such as oversing all countries of infirmary, including doctors, wellness information technicians, nursing, medical records and etc, ( Education-portal 2010 ) . Furthermore, the accomplishments required to transport out the occupation of infirmary director are interchanging information, processing paperwork, commanding public presentation, planning, co-coordinating, encouraging, and pull offing struggles, ( Human Resources Institute1990 ) . The impact of the director in the wellness sector is to accomplish the wellness sector ends by engaging and choosing the most qualified and good experient physicians and nurses that are capable to present quality services to the patients.The seller in the wellness sectorMarketer is a individual who ‘s responsible of advertisement and advancing the merchandises and services that are offered by the well-thought-of entity. As Mr. Abdul Hakeem Ali Alhayki said, the sellers are involved in educating people about the effects of misapplying drugs by puting up educational promoting runs ( personal communicating, May 6, 2010 ) . Besides sellers are the front face of a company, as this function requires a batch of accomplishments and makings. Every selling officer should hold first-class and influential communicating accomplishments to fundamentally interact with clients in a really efficient mode.The comptroller in the wellness sectorAn comptroller is a compulsory function in every orga nisation, as they are qualified and trained for clerking, Auditing and fixing the fiscal analysis of the entity The Hospital comptroller ‘s chief responsibilities are fixing fiscal documents, supplying monthly studies to fundamentally verify and guarantee whether the fiscal information generated is accurate, the comptroller besides fixing infirmaries studies and makes fiscal determinations ( 1999-2010 ehow, Inc ) . The accomplishments that are required and should be related to an comptroller are as follows: Develop fiscal and other operational systems to accurately command the fiscal activities Train and supervise accounting forces Make sound fiscal determinations and recommendations to direction in respects to professional accounting jobs. Interpret and use legal demands and administrative policies to accounting maps. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.co.monterey.ca.us/personnel/documents/specifications/20B91.pdf Harmonizing to Mr. Abdul Hakeem Ali, the comptrollers have a monolithic impact on the wellness sector because they play a major function in this field because they work together with the infirmary direction in finalising the ministry of wellness one-year budget. They besides oversee ministry ‘s entrance and outgoing disbursals ( personal communicating, May 6, 2010 ) . Without their intercession and assistance the ministry of wellness will non be able to accomplish their ends and marks.

Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is a classic example of 'staged Essay

Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is a classic example of 'staged authenticity, outline some of the challenges that the tourism operator faces in trying to commercial - Essay Example Sovereign Hill is a multidimensional attraction that depicts the Australian town of Ballarat, around the mid-nineteenth century, about ten years after the discovery of gold in 1851. The attraction offers an excellent example of a â€Å"living† museum, â€Å"presenting the mining and social history of Australia’s gold rush era† (Buhalis & Costa, 2005: 209). The township is spread over sixty acres of land, has around sixty buildings, 300 costumed staff, 200 costumed volunteers and around 40 horses. The gold rush museum promotes visitor participation and authentic experience through role playing, interactions with characters, and the buildings and artefacts. This is supported by a modern orientation centre which familiarizes visitors with the background of the gold rushes in the 1850s, with the help of audio and video. The tourist destination offers several interesting experiences including activities, events, festivals and a sound and light show â€Å"Blood on the Southern Cross† with spectacular lighting and special effects (Buhalis & Costa: 209). Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is a classic example of â€Å"staged authenticity†. This paper proposes to outline some of the challenges faced by the tourism operator in trying to commercialize the tourist destination, while at the same time attempting to maintain an authentic experience for the visitors. A tourist destination is not only a geographical place, it is an integration of products, services, natural resources, built environment, artificial elements and information that attracts a number of visitors to a place (Bieger: 8). The stakeholders are: actual and potential tourists, public administration, tourism operators, conductors of local private tourism activities, operators of non-local tourism activities and the host community. The main objective of tourism operators is the integration of different resources to provide facilities and activities based on policy. Tourism should â€Å"meet the needs of different

Answer the questions according to reading Essay

Answer the questions according to reading - Essay Example These four studies demonstrate the power of institutions in shaping gender identities through the dominant theme of power between the dominant racial male and the dominated female and other male racial groups, and in order to attain meaningful racial and gender equality changes, the causes of heteronormativity must be determined, followed by recommendations that impact individual mindset and institutional paradigm changes. Powerful institutions create specific gender and race identities and images of sexualities by designing and implementing oppressive gendered and sexualized beliefs, attitudes, policies, and practices. Lindsey Feitz and Joane Nagel understand the connections among race, gender, and sexuality in â€Å"The Militarization of Gender and Sexuality in the Iraq War.† They assert that the American government, specifically through the U.S. Army, produces and reproduces sexual and racial repression through its wartime practices, specifically the sexualization of female soldiers and the promotion of â€Å"female masculinities† (Feitz and Nagel 201). These sexual relations and identities reinforce ideas of heteronormativity, despite the rising number of women soldiers in the U.S. military. Furthermore, what is clear in the sexual industries is the gender and ethnic differences between the dominant racial man and the oppressed sexualized woman, thereby intersecting gender and race issues. Feitz and Nagel underscore gender and race in seeing minorities as sexual objects and as tools of the war. Private First Class Jessica Lynch has gender and race that opposed that of her kidnappers, where the media showed how â€Å"American men [saved] a pretty, young, white American woman from the possible sexual and personal assault by dark and dangerous Iraqis† (Feitz and Nagel 206). The impact of the media coverage in Lynch’s staged rescue attempt is the formulation of racialization in war, apart from the gendering of military women in war. These examples show the role of the military in expressing and implementing oppressive gendered, racial, and sexualized beliefs in their practices. War rape becomes a method for suppressing other races through gender exploitation. The same intersection of ethnicity and gender is present in â€Å"‘Check Me Out’: Queer encounters in Sharif Waked’s Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints.† In this article, Hochberg shows the impact of institutionalized racism on repressed gender and race identities. Sharif Waked’s Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints shows how checkpoints are a new arena of power play for political and gender subjugation because they seek to â€Å"produce the Palestinian body both as a symbol of imminent danger (â€Å"the terrorist†) and as the object of complete subjugation lacking any political agency (â€Å"the occupied†)† (Hochberg 578). These checkpoints demonstrate the sexualization of power even a gainst men, where the othering of Palestinian men (and women) is performed through stripping them and removing them of their privacy, perhaps even dignity. Their racial identities are then sexualized for political purposes that seek to marginalize them and make them feel powerless, physically, sexually and psychologically. These articles demonstrate that these practices and institutions promote oppressed gender and

Brown University and its Ties to Slavery Research Paper

Brown University and its Ties to Slavery - Research Paper Example This occurred during a time when slavery was considered a normal part of the socio-economic life in New England and Rhode Island, and slaves formed a sizeable population within the states. When Brown University was established, Rhode Island was the main center in trans-Atlantic human trafficking where over a period of 100 years almost 100,000 Africans were forced into slavery. From the Brown report which showed Brown University to have profited from funds that originated from slave trade, it can be assumed that other institutions (which were established around the same era) may have the same past as Brown University. Outline 1. Abstract: Gives a brief summary of the entire paper 2. Introduction: introduces the topic to the reader, giving a brief glimpse of how funds from slave trade and slave related businesses helped to establish American institutions of higher education 3. Background study on American slavery: this segment gives an overview on the slave trade and US slavery that wa s widely prevalent during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. 4. Slavery in New England and Rhode Island: gives a brief review of the slavery in the northern US (New England and Rhode Island) at the time Brown University was established. It helps one understand the socio-economic conditions (as regards slavery) that prevailed in the region when Brown University was established. 5. The Brown University and its link with slavery: this shows how the Brown family was directly involved in slave trading and how money from slave related businesses from other donors went into establishing the University, thus forging a link that tied the University’s past with slavery. 1 Literature review 1.1 Introduction In a report published by the Brown University in October 2006, there were evidences that showed financial proceedings from slave trade went to establishing the university, while slave labor was used for building the college campus (Johnson, 2006). Historical data suggests that beside s Brown University, a majority of the US’s famous academic institutions for higher studies starting from Harvard University to College of William and Mary were built by slave economy and labor (Wilder, 2010). Reports show that Harvard Law School was established with the help of funds that came in from selling slaves to the Caribbean sugar plantations in the Caribbean (Puryear, 2006). The library of the Yale University was founded from donations made by slave owners and traders, while the University of Virginia was designed and funded by Thomas Jefferson (a slave owner), and slave labor was used to build the University complex (Puryear, 2006). In fact, the economy that was derived from slave trade helped to shape the financial future of many American higher educational institutions while influencing politics of institution affected educational culture and curricula within the then new American republic (Wilder, 2010). Commercial trade in slavery (also known as the

Groupon Inc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Groupon Inc - Research Paper Example It has resulted into numerous restatements of financial statements. Any material weakness means internal controls were ineffective and not able to detect misstatements or irregularities. This weakness was cited by the accounting firm as the cause of its revised earnings and revenues. An audit exception like that cited by Ernst & Young regarding the refund policy of the Groupon company is the cause of the inaccuracies in its financial statements. It is considered as a â€Å"material weakness† because the weakness is big enough or serious enough to impact the overall accuracy of the audited financial statements prepared by Ernst & Young. This particular ruling is contained under Auditing Standard No. 5 which states the requirements to be met by a firm to assess its managements effectiveness in instituting internal controls with regards to the financial reporting integrated with an audit of its financial statements.2 The crucial issue therefore causing the material weakness is the inability of Groupon to accurately predict the approximate amount of refunds it will give to customers who did not avail of promos based on varying coupon prices. It is a serious issue that impacts earning per share resulting in the stock price sliding 7% in a day. A monetary unit sampling (MUS) is a very useful method used by auditors to determine if a particular financial account is fairly stated.3 In the case of Groupon, the auditors must have a feeling its refund account is not stated accurately enough. The executives at Groupon admitted its difficulty with regards to estimating accurately the amount of refunds it will have to pay out due to the refund behavior of customers which started to shift or change around the year 2011 as a result of the company introducing higher-priced deals. This change in its mix of product deals means a requirement for increases in its reserve fund to deal with the higher-priced deals being unavailed and returned by some

Choose Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Choose - Annotated Bibliography Example African Americans have always suffered according to the book Gates, Henry L. Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print. It illustrates some of the troubles they encountered as slaves and soldiers in the 1800s. these issues are also seen in The Revolution as majority of the colored soldiers are not allowed to hold special weapons as they are not qualified and they are black. They are not given the opportunity to escape from the war as their fellow soldiers kill them. Both the movie and the book explain this. The Revolution also indicates that slaves were sometimes confused on the people they supported. This is further explained by the book Smith, Gene A. The Slaves Gamble: Choosing Sides in the War of 1812. , 2013. Print. They were sometimes offered freedom by their enemies or even enticed by money and property. The movie indicates that some of the slaves took the offer only to realize that it was all lies. They found themselves being treated as slaves or even sold as prisoners of war to their previous owners. Smith also indicates that some of the African American who fought in the war of 1812 did not receive compensation or rewards for their participation in the war. Wilson, Joseph T, and Dudley T. Cornish. The Black Phalanx: African American Soldiers in the War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. Print, shows that the participation of the African Americans in the war changed a lot of things. For instance, both the movie and the book indicate that the whites started to view them differently. They started to treat them as their fellow human beings and not slaves. There are others who were viewed as brothers to the soldiers. This is seen in the movie as one of the soldiers share a meal with one of the slaves.

Develop a group proposal for a group of children who have been abused Essay

Develop a group proposal for a group of children who have been abused - Essay Example Abused children keep mostly to themselves. They suffer from a self imposed isolation which is directly connected to depression. (James, 2001) The majority of abused children blame themselves, thus resulting in poor self-image combined with trust issues. (James, 2001) Indeed, left alone, these poor children face a lifetime of self abuse and shame. (James, 2001) Accordingly, in the hopes of assisting these victims into a life of acceptance and social assimilation, this paper proposes group counselling. Group counselling will provide providing essential and effective relationship rehabilitation with these victims, and with peers who suffer with similar issues. (James, 2001) This group counselling requires group mentors who can devote themselves to these children, having effective skills and with the ability to show positive productivity. These group members are placed together in a way so that together their team effectiveness will be high. Accordingly, the process begins with the recruiting of group members. (James, 2001) According to William James' view "A therapeutic relationship with these abuse children is the group main goal" (James, 2001). The group goal is to establish a safe environment for the children in which these children feel free to discuss their issues, feel risk free and can enhance their personality. The objective is to empower the children and to augment their sense of self. The group is allowed to enhance their personality in way that they can start their life with positive thinking and having enough courage and power to start their life. The group will end when it is felt that they have achieved the objectives for which the group was organized. (James, 2001) Setting up the group Screening Group screening involves the recruitment of members according to their age, physical size and gender to provide a most balance group for the abuse children. The group screening mainly depends on the following issues : 1. Either the child is abused recently or it happened few days before 2. Either the child is highly disturbed with the event or not 3. Either the child has serious psychiatric disturbance or not like he might commit suicide 4. Is the child abuse more than one time All these issues must be taken in account while screening process. These all issues inform you that what type of balanced group you should adopt for group counselling. Parent of Legal Guardian Consent The consent of parent and guardian is taken in different ways; either the letter is send to them or we will meet them physically to get their permission. Usually the letter format is send to these papers showing a detail about this group counselling. Their objectives as what type of relation they will show and what type of after affects will incur. The detail of whole process and steps will be provided to the parents or guardian so that they can understand the major objectives of this group counse

How to get benifit & cost saving for marketing planning Essay

How to get benifit & cost saving for marketing planning - Essay Example This can be great cost saver with benefits of achieving better business profits. The marketing plan should be organized in such a manner that it specifically demonstrates the benefit of cost saving to the customer or the distributor. This again requires innovation to find the cost benefit that can be available to a large segment of consumers. Once the benefits are recognized, the target market has to be identified This will create a situation by which the consumers of that particular target group are benefited and the volume and profits thus generated, for the business, due to non-occurrence of further marketing expenses. Therefore, it is important to locate the right kind of target group that needs such benefits. Market research in this direction always helps. Once the target is identified, it is necessary to address in the marketing plan, a message that clearly and aggressively tackles the requirements of such customers, while highlighting the benefits and savings offered. This in marketing jargon can be called as target marketing or segmentation of prospects. The media of message and the message itself in a marketing plan is important, as it may not be same for different target groups. While email marketing may result in cost savings to the business, with increase in sales figure as well; it may not be the preferred way to market a product that requires physical demonstration. Marketing through other channels may be the requirement, in such cases. Every step in a marketing plan involves market research. Even after the identification of a targeted consumer group, the exact method to be adopted to address your marketing plan to that particular group needs further research. If we are using new technologies to address our target, then there is a need to find their adaptability with our targeted audience. We cannot afford to address our marketing plan to a group that is

Analysis Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis Report - Assignment Example Both the staffs and students of any institution seem to neglect the importance of internet in their lives and studies and official works are carried out by the means of paper work. However after the invention of internet, many schools/colleges have switched to an automated environment, still it’s necessary on the parts of the students to know why internet seems to be so vital. Thus the students will be assigned with the task of data gathering by the application of internet and this could be done by involving them in a group project where the objective would be to gather data about the usage of internet in various regions within their locality. Each group would be assigned with one region of their choice where they would have to present data on the following- The objective of the task is to make the students realize the capabilities of internet and implement the same in their further academic projects. The instructional issues would also get resolved once they get familiarized with the internet and its utilities. The task would be conducted in an environment comprising both the classroom activities and the field job. The field job would include visiting the households or the corporate houses for deriving more reliable data and then properly tabulate the data so that it becomes easier for the evaluator to understand the study. They can also collect the data via some sites that offer trends and statistics related to internet usage (Internet World Stats, 2013). The class activity would include analyzing the data collected through various statistical tools and representing those in a simple manner. Internet is regarded by most of people belonging to the younger generation, as a channel for entertainment. However, Internet also serve various purpose like it can offer an individual a chance to explore what is going on in the entire world just staying at the comfort of their home.

Amazon.Com - Project Paper Essay Example for Free

Amazon.Com Project Paper Essay Amazon.com is obsessed with fervour to serve consumer and shareholder alike. Since its inception over fifteen years ago, Amazon.com has steadily grown from a burgeoning â€Å"dot-com† corporation into a multinational monster, a king in the domain of internet retail. It targets two goals: the satisfaction of a customer and efficient corporate growth. Its marketing strategies are near-legendary, and budding business should take a page – or several chapters – from Amazon.com’s proven marketing manual. Amazon.com History Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO, dreamed about books. In 1994, he created Amazon.com, Inc., which he labelled as â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore.† The ecommerce company went online in 1995 and soon expanded into other media, including DVDs, VHS, CDs, MP3s, and eventually a wide range of other products, including toys, electronics, furniture and apparel. As such, the tagline soon changed to â€Å"Earth’s Largest Selection.† But books were only the beginning of Bezo’s up-and-coming enterprise. Amazon.com went public in 1997. In the first shareholder letter, Bezos penned the fundamental foundation for Amazon.com’s success: â€Å"Start with customers and work backwards †¦ Listen to customers, but don’t just listen to customers – also invent on their behalf †¦ Obsess over customers.† This policy was backed by a startling business philosophy – Bezos planned on operating at a loss for 4-5 years. It was not until 2001 that Amazon.com posted a net profit at a minuscule one-cent per share. Yet, despite its bizarre business strategy, Amazon.com claimed over 1.4 million customers after only two years of being online. Now, 45 million satisfied customers shop at Amazon.com for everything from books (most popular) to fashion apparel to fine jewellery to Christmas toys. It has one of the most recognized brand names in the world and garners an estimated 50% of its sales from overseas consumers. Surviving the dot-com bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Amazon weathered the e-storms and now thrives in the retail marketplace, challenging vending giants like Wal-Mart and Target. Focused on technological innovation and entered on customer fulfilment, Amazon.com proceeds into the next decade with a profit firmly in one hand, and the capacity to blow it out of the water in the other hand. Amazon.com’s Business Philosophy Despite its massive growth, Amazon.com remains unremittingly focused on the consumer. Out of 452 company goals in 2009, 360 directly affected customer experience. Amazon.com’s self-proclaimed mission statement is: â€Å"We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers.† Vision Amazon’s vision is to be Earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Mission The company’s six core values: customer obsession, ownership, bias for action, frugality, high hiring bar, and innovation. Motto The company motto: ‘Work Hard, Have Fun, and Make History’. Question 1 Amazon currently operates in two markets: the business-to-business (offering Internet retailing services) and consumer markets (retailing consumer goods). Identify the characteristics of the two types of buyers and markets. Amazon is an online bookstore that trades books from numerous originators including Wrox, O’Reilly, Premier Press, and so on. In this case, the publishers have the option of either developing their own site or exhibiting their books on the Amazon site (www.amazon.com), or both. The publishers usually prefer to display their books on www.amazon.com at it gives them a larger audience. Currently, to do this, the publishers want to deal with Amazon, involving seller and buyer, is the B2B model. Amazon derives about 40% of its sales from affiliate marketing called Amazon Associates and third-party sellers who sell products on Amazon. Associates receive a commission for referring customers to Amazon by placing links on their websites to Amazon, if the referral results in a sale. Worldwide, Amazon has over 900,000 members in its affiliate programs. Amazon reported over 1.3 million sellers sold products through Amazons World Wide Web sites in 2007. Amazon sellers do not have to maintain separate payment accounts; all payments are handled by Amazon. Associates can access the Amazon catalogue directly on their websites by using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) XML service. A new affiliate product, aStore, allows Associates to embed a subset of Amazon products within another website, or linked to another website. In June 2010, Amazon Seller Product Suggestions was launched (rumoured to be internally called Project Genesis) to provide more transparency to sellers by recommending specific products to third-party sellers to sell on Amazon. Products recommended are based on customers browsing history. Characteristic of B2B Amazon uses B2B by providing the opportunity to purchase and sell all types of products via the internet. It allows for relationships to be established in order to complete sales and business transactions. Additionally, providing email address and having personalized memberships are methods for dispensing sale ads and providing discount coupons is a use of the internet by Amazon. Rather than producing time-intensive and costly physical copies for each consumer, a central server or email list can serve as an efficient method for distributing necessary information to the general public The characteristic of B2B is a long-term: Usually involves negotiations and contractual commitments between long-term trading partners (E.g. Suppliers, manufacturers). Thus, also generates high sales revenue and volume. Significant characteristic is relationship driven not product driven. The BCB model enhances maximization of the value of the relationship and bonding. Buyers and sellers work more closely together and build long-term relationships. Thus rational buying decision is based on business value. The sales cycle in the B2B world is often much longer and more complex. It mainly maximizes on the value of relationships. Amazon focuses on maintaining communication and building relationships. Marketing activities involving lead generation that can be nurtured during the sales cycle can be used to attain this goal. B2B features a multi-step buying process that needs more than one person to decide on the purchase thus B2B companies employ marketing to educate its target audience. Take for example in an email campaign, objective of Amazon is to drive prospects to the site to learn about their products and services. High expectations for service: Customised services and goods delivery and managing inventory for business partners that extend the supply chain so companies can respond on minute-by-minute basis. Knowledgeable buyers: Suppliers (Amazon associates) and buyers who understand and well-versed in trading in their industry. Involving more buyers, with extensive decision process, the process is more tedious and complex. The buying becoming is more formalised professional purchasing effort. Nevertheless, B2B models always emphasis in educational and awareness building activities to grasp repeat business. Characteristic of B2C The above B2C model reflects an individual consumer transact with business organisation, consumer searches for a book on Amazon site and places an order, if required. The B2C category has expanded greatly in the late 1990s with the growth of public access to the Internet. It largely equates to electronic retailing and its main objective is to aggressively convince prospective buyers to shop. B2C companies, including Amazon employ different marketing campaigns for publicizing their goods and services. This would include coupons, vouchers, email blasts, banner ads, limited edition offers and the likes to entice their target market to buy. These campaigns are much shorter in duration thus the urgent need to secure the customer’s interest very quickly. The B2C model of e-commerce is more prone to security threats because individual consumers provide their credit card and personal information in the site of a business organization. In addition, the consumers might doubt that his/he r information is secured and used effectively by the business organization. This is the main reason why the B2C model is not very widely accepted. Therefore, it becomes very essential for the business organization to provide robust security mechanisms that can be guarantee a consumer for securing his information. Consumer markets are the markets for products and services bought by individuals for their own or family use. B2C sales are more engrossed on a very large market segment; market is the total sales market of consumers. There is very little discrimination or qualification of potential customers. If the product appeals to them, then they are a customer to which Amazon may sell their product. And B2C or businesses that sell consumers more focussed on transactional relationship. However, the traffic volume is very critical due to high volume, low unit value. This characteristic explains that number of customers is many or large target market but limited purchase unit or value. Similar to FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost. Nevertheless there is fast repurchase derived or in another words frequent purchases. B2C sales are driven by highlighting the advantages of the product and its usefulness. Depending on how the product is presented to the end user, it may appeal to them based on novelty, ease of use, appearance or price. Usually the aspects of status, desire and price can lead to emotional buying decision. Besides that in B2C, since it is product driven, the product and its features also able to influence customer during the point of sale. B2C characteristic is inclusive a single step buying process, shorter sales cycle. The path to purchase must be short and simple – just a few clicks from email receipt to order confirmation. Any more than a couple of clicks and the customer are likely to abandon the shopping cart. The call to action must be obvious and the offer enticing. Besides that email campaigns often highlight special deals and discount that can be used both online and in store. They can also be informative especially if the aim is to build the brand and enhance customer loyalty. Loyalty is an important aspect in B2C marketing. This proved very true for company like Amazon. They combine good customer service and education on their product and services thus their customers keep coming back. Amazon’s brand identity created through repetition and imagery.

The Powerful Eunuchs Of China History Essay

The Powerful Eunuchs Of China History Essay Their stories are almost completely shrouded in mystery. These people are mentioned only as minute details in historical accounts, their lives often kept in seclusion from the world, probably even from history itself. These people play major roles in the unfolding of significant historical events, yet they are rarely even mentioned. From the shadows, they exercise their power. From behind the scenes, they carefully manipulate the government to their own interests. These incomplete men are very powerful. Yet, at the same time, they are pitiful. Their seemingly quick rise to power comes at a price, a price almost as valuable as their very lives. These people are called eunuchs. Eunuchs: An Introduction A eunuch, in general, is a term given to castrated men. However, for the purpose of this paper, the term eunuchs will be used to refer to Chinese eunuchs; more specifically, those that were in imperial service during the era of Chinas dynastic rule. Eunuchs served the primary function as guards and servants in womens quarters and to the emperors. But in time they gained power and control as they gained functions as advisers to the emperors of China (Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online 2010). In fact, in certain time periods, the eunuchs grew to be more powerful than the emperor. Indeed, the role of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty has become an important portrayal of political society of that era (Hammond 2002). Castration started out as a form of punishment, particularly for the crime of rape. But as eunuchs became more and more popular and rich, poor families opted to have their sons castrated for a chance at a better life in the Imperial Court (Scholz 2001). From the definition itself, one becomes a eunuch by undergoing the process of castration. While castration is usually viewed as a gruesome and horrific procedure, there are some accounts that have actually romanticized it. In Piotr Scholzs Eunuchs and Castrati, there is a cultural account left by the emperors last eunuch, Sun Yao-ting pertaining to the delicate procedure of castration. In his account, he explains that the process starts by setting a date when the castration will be performed. He narrated that they would notify the person to be castrated that he must quickly urinate after the procedure so that his urethra would not be blocked and not get infected. The person, consequently then drinks lots of water to prepare for the ur ination. Then the castrator takes a rope and ties the one to be castrated in such a way that he was unable to move his hands or feet, (Scholz 2001, 137). After that, he prays for guidance with incense sticks. Then he moves on with the slicing of the organ. The mutilation is vividly described as fountains of red, white and yellow liquid gushing from the wound (Scholz 2001, 137). Then the castrator inserts a goose quill into the urethra of the castrated so as to retain the opening formed by the slit. Then finally, the castrator treats the wounds with tampons dipped in wax, sesame oil and paper. A few days later, after the castrated man urinates, and in essence his excretory system is functioning well again, he is checked if he is already cleared to go to the palace. Once all the preparations are complete, before he leaves for the palace, the castrator gives the castrated a package wrapped in oilpaper and instructs him on what to do with the package. The castrator says that for everything to go well, he must follow that set of instructions: When youre in the palace, put it in a bushel of grain, hang the bushel on the beam supporting the ceiling of your room and raise it a little higher each year. Then it will protect you and ensure you that you will grow every year. And remember one more thing: when you are near death, it must be with you in the grave or the six lines of your ancestors will be incomplete. Those who are neither man nor woman cannot be reborn!(Scholz 2001, 138). So basically, even after the castration process, there is a routine to be followed by the castrated . The responsibility of the eunuch to the part that has been separated from his has not been lost but must carry on till his death. Castration leads to several physical and supposedly emotional and mental changes among castrates. Depending on the age in which castration took place, eunuchs vary in characteristics. Often, males who are castrated earlier in boyhood generally do not obtain the male characteristics obtained during puberty. Facial hair and pubic hair do not grow and their voice remains high pitched and unchanged. Males, who are castrated well after their puberty, will still grow pubic hair despite the absence of facial hair. The pubic hair will however, be much more diminished. A common characteristic among eunuchs though is the characteristic of never going bald. (Wilson and Roehrborn) As such, eunuchs were unable to have heirs and were thus seen to be more trusted as it would prevent dynastic overthrows by their heirs. In fact, it was this very reason why the Chinese dynasties sought to utilize eunuchs as servants and attendants to the emperor and his family, and even other high-ranking officials in the government. Essentially, the main reason why people aspired to become eunuchs was the having the honor of working as an imperial attendant, which more often than not meant an improvement of economic status. On numerous occasions, fathers would have their sons castrated as early as seven years old in order for their sons to leave for the imperial palace as soon as they recover from the castration. Especially among poorer families, having someone from the family become a eunuch meant honor, and economic improvement. For the eunuch himself, becoming a eunuch meant indirect access to power and relationships with the higher officials. History of Eunuchs Historical anthropologic evidence proves that the earliest eunuchs emerged from the Shang Dynasty. According to Piotr Scholz Eunuchs and Castrati, In 1976 little figurines of servants (c. 9 cm in height) were discovered in the grave of Fu Hao, wife of Emperor Wu-ting (Wu-ding); they are the oldest known representations of palace eunuchs, (Scholz 2001, 129). This is proven by statues excavated in Lingjiatan. The statues excavated show no distinct sexual characteristics. Originally, castration was used very early as a form of punishment both for criminals among ones own population and for prisoners taken in war, (Scholz 2001, 131). Here it is clear that castration was not intended to be beneficial to the castrated as what has later turned out in the course of history. What is fascinating is how the paradigm shifted from the eunuchs being looked down upon, to them almost assuming most of the imperial powers. Such series of events will lead to famous rise of the eunuchs to their subtle fading. Sun Yao-ting (1902-1996), the last eunuch of Emperor Pu-I, tells of how he was insulted by a Chinese Republican officer with the line: Since time immemorial, you eunuchs have been the ruin of China! (Scholz 2001, 131). This was because, with regards to castration as punishment, it is most likely assumed that it was used early on as a substitute for the death penalty in cases involving political crimes, (Scholz 2001, 133). With this, as Piotr Scholz further writes: This allows us that eunuchs represented a political intelligentsia that did not conform to the notions of the dominant Confucian bureaucracy which was constantly trying to shape the empire in its own imageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Scholz 2001, 133). The way it really was is therefore contradictory to the previous claim of the Chinese Republican who looked down on eunuchs when the fact that the reason for their castration was the fear of their intellect and political prowess comes into play. The eunuch Tsao Tsao (144-220 C.E.), son of eunuch Tsao Sung and grandson of eunuch Tsao Teng, even became the grand counselor and was a victorious general. Tsao Teng, the grandfather, have already been influential enough because he had already owned a large land and has served four emperors, but Tsao Tsao became part of the circle that helped Emperor Huan-Ti (r. 146-167 C.E.) to ascend the throne, following the murder of Huans predecessor, Liang Chi. (Scholz 2001, 143). Furthermore, when child emperor An-ti (106-125 C.E.) was enthroned, he was involved in every conceivable kind of intrigue at court. (Scholz 2001, 143). Because of this and through Empress Dowager Tengs help, he also gained favor and influence over the prince and next emperor Shun, such that during the reign of Emperor Shun (126-144 C.E.) of the Han Dynasty, the eunuchs reached the peak of their powers when they were allowed to adopt sons to succeed them and go to even greater heights. They even became personal secret aries (shang-shu) to the emperor, (Scholz 2001, 143). Ultimately, Tsao Tsaos son, Tsao Pei (188-227) soon ruled as emperor himself. However, with great power comes great responsibility, such that during the reign of Emperor Yuan Shao (189 C.E.) during the Han Dynasty, thousands of them [eunuchs] were slaughteredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in an attempt to curtail their influence, (Scholz 2001, 135). It is clear then that eunuchs got the point when they were feared even by the strongest imperial power, the emperor. But because Emperor Yuan Shao never succeeded in finishing the eunuchs off, their intellect was, rather than countered, utilized once more, thus marking the rebirth of the eunuchs shaping of the kingdom. By 800 C.E., the situation had reached a point where eunuchs have become a determining factor in choosing who was to accede to the imperial throne, (Scholz 2001, 146). Eunuchs had the preference of Buddhism over Confucianism because they found it congenial to their life. But in the course of the 9th century, as old doctrines were revived, Buddhist doctrine and practice was decreed as un-Chinese, (Scholz 2001, 148). In 903, eunuchs who had accompanied the emperor to their last day were killed in a bloody massacre led by Chu Chuan-chung (Zhu Wen, 907-923), the founder of the later Liang Dynasty, (Scholz 2001, 149). With the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, the eunuchs collapsed as well. Due to the high level of corruption in government, it was running out of capital. Inflation compounded the impact of dwindling resources. As local administrative costs rose, the imperial government levied irregular taxes to meet pressing financial obligations (Atwell 1988). With this, the decline of the influence of eunuchs started as a new era ensued in which the court no longer regarded the aristocratic ideas of status and ritual, espoused by many eunuchs, as vital to maintaining the interests of the state. These ideas, in fact, degenerated into a seemingly ineffectual court etiquette, (Scholz 2001, 149). But its not as if though they were stripped of all their power in the court, they were still assigned positions and sent to expeditions. The difference is that they no longer directly affected the decisions of the emperor. Eunuchs were perceived as very corrupt officials. Despite having only meager salaries, upon their deaths, their massive fortunes were discovered. An example is the eunuch Li Yung-chen (1583-1628). When he was executed in 1628, his confiscated properties were said to have been worth 270,000 taels of silver. Ming historians contrast this to the annual wage for some manual workers in Beijing at the turn of the sixteenth century, was approximately 4.2 taels (Atwell 1988). This was due to the fact that they were known to misappropriate funds. Such practices were extremely common, to claim military supplies for 100,000 named soldiers when there were in fact only 50,000 troops, and only have less than half of the 50,000 needing the supplies. The court thus pays for four solders for one soldier (Atwell 1988). Such is only one example of the great corruption the eunuchs made. Eunuch influence in economic activities was made possible because they fulfilled the capricious demands of their emperors despite the growing financial needs of the state. Their positions allowed the eunuchs to build a base, which in turn strengthened their positions in the economic as well as political and military worlds. The power over labor, land and taxes made it impossible not to cooperate with eunuchs. This brought them to great power. Using such privileges, they were able to exploit the sy stem further to increase power and wealth (Crawford 1961). By 1644, it is estimated that there were 70,000 eunuchs in the palace alone and 100,000 in the entire empire (Crawford 1961). At this point, castration became widespead and despite the emperors decrees against such, castration still became common for poorer families who could not afford to send their children to school (Crawford 1961). Compounded by the fact that the emperor was not consistent, eunuchization became very rampant as a means to get rich and powerful easily. The Chinese imperial eunuchs ended with Sun Yao-ting as the last of the emperors eunuchs. He left an account that though it is embellished, it is of interest as an example of cultural history, (Scholz 2001, 136). It is important to note that what ended was the Chinese and imperial element of eunuchism. Eunuchism itself has existed far out through time into todays era and now has a new connotation depending on the culture and surrounding society of the eunuch. The Roles of Eunuchs in Government Eunuchs had been used as servants in the imperial palace since the late fourteenth century, and from the early fifteenth century, their functions, numbers, and power increased. By the mid-fifteenth century, eunuchs were a well-established element of the Ming bureaucracy, serving in the capital and in the provinces in both military and civil posts. Numbers fluctuated, but early in the sixteenth century, there are said to have been over 12,000 palace eunuchs in Beijing alone (Robinson 2010). The Ming government was divided among six ministries in the 1390s, Personnel, Revenues, War, Punishment, Rites, and Public Works (Tsai 1995). While each ministry had its own minister, they were really under direct control of the emperor, who frequently used his eunuchs to run the state. Constantly locked in adversary positions with the eunuchs, the scholars despised and hated the eunuchs, blaming them for the ills of society (Tsai 1995). Eunuch influence was greatest in periods of weak emperors. During the Ming Dynasty, where the eunuch abuses were most rampant, there were some periods of history where the eunuchs were practically running the empire. As emperors felt that eunuchs represented the best interests of the imperial family at heart, the contact between emperor and bureaucracy was carried entirely through eunuchs (Crawford 1961). Eunuchs were first organized into a Directorate of Palace Servants. But as their functions expanded beyond the inner court and their number increased, they were repeatedly reorganizeduntil after I400, they were finally organized into twenty-four offices. At this point, they had ceased to be entirely personal tools used at imperial discretion and became instead an institutionalized bureaucracy with its own inner development and history (Crawford 1961). In the final organization, there were twelve Directorates, four Offices, and eight Bureaus. Each Directorate had one Director with th e rank of 4a; a senior and junior Vice-director each with the rank of 4b; a senior and junior Assistant director with the rank of 5a; one Recorder with the rank of 6a; and a varying number of lesser officials. The Directorates had charge of such matters as staff supervision, imperial provisions and food, seals, ancient and modern archives, metal tokens given to meritorious statesmen, credentials, instructions, construction of storehouses, weddings, gunpowder, constructionof temples, the imperial insignia and tent, the imperial stables, military tallies and other such items. Some of these Directorates were thus closely associated with the Ministry of War (Crawford 1961). The main contribution of eunuchs was in the field of military and secret service. Emperors used eunuchs as emissaries to foreign countries. In fact, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, what existed of the central military arm was largely in the hands of eunuchs (Crawford 1961). In the end, the eunuchs were less like household servants meddling in state affairs and more like an administrative hierarchy who exercised powers in all areas of government (Tsai 1995). Famous Eunuchs of Ancient China Eunuchs were often seen as the antagonist to the Confucian court officials. Differing in priorities, they had different agendas. While most eunuchs have been depicted negatively and in an antagonistic manner, there were some eunuchs that rose above and became important figures in Chinese history, and there is no other greater eunuch than Zheng He (also Cheng Ho). Zheng He was from the early Ming dynasty and was both a Muslim and a Eunuch. He had won the reputation as a great diplomat and military strategist. Unlike most eunuchs, he was a delegated in the military, in charge of seven official oceanic expeditions, a first in Chinese history. With an armada of 63 ships, Zheng He traveled around the world, first primarily to South East Asia, then eventually to the Middle East and Africa (Willetts 1964). In fact, he was even known to have brought back some African animals such as giraffes, lions, and tigers from the fifth expedition (Willetts 1964). Zheng He died in extreme old age in 144 4. Despite numerous voyages that brought China closer to the world, scholars agree that the voyages actually had no practical results, essentially meaning that it was a waste of money and that from the perspective of the Ming dynasty, it was an absolute waste of resources given that they were not empire builders, Ming did not have a sense of mission (Willetts 1964). This then provides an answer as to why after Zheng Hes final voyage of 1431, there no on longer any naval excursions by the Chinese. But while there were no longer any naval operations afterwards, in the time that Zheng He lived, he was by no means the only eunuch in the high seas (Willetts 1964). In contrast to Zheng He who had the best intentions are the four infamous tyrannical eunuch dictators, Wei ZhongXian in the late Ming, Wang Zhen in the 1440s, Wang Zhi in the 1470s, and Liu Jin in the 1500s (Dillon 1998). Wang Zhen was voluntarily castrated as a youth and entered palace eunuch school. Wang was made Director of Ceremonial when Emperor Ying-tsung ascended. He was killed by an army on its retreat (Crawford 1961). Liu Jin was also voluntarily castrated. He attached himself to a higher eunuch in order to advance, then subsequently took the position. He was put in charge of the Bureau of Cymbals and Gongs. But more than that, he controlled the secret police Eastern Depot. He is considered to be one of the eight tigers (Crawford 1961). Wei is often compared to Yang Lian, a Confucian adviser who late becomes an adversary. Their tales are often contrasted as they both experienced hardship in becoming high officials in the court. Yang Lian had to study and take many licensure exams in order to receive what is equivalent to the doctorate, while Wei ZhongXian had to live castrated and maneuvers his way in the eunuch system (Tsai 1995). As a child, Wei chose castration as a way out of his gambling debt (Crawford 1961). Because of his cunning nature, he was able to work his way into the system and become a grand eunuch in the Ceremonial Directorate of the Ming court. As a palace eunuch, he cheated his superiors and gained advantages by swindling them. But amidst that cruel life, his path into becoming a eunuch was a turbulent one, scarred emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Physically, his hormone levels caused wrinkled skin, stiffened joints, and weak muscles. Eventually, he became evidently more feminine than masculine (Tsai 1995). In order to rise above the ranks, Wei aligned himself only with the most powerful eunuchs and palace women. He worked first in the imperial stable, moving his way up until he became assigned to be the cook for Emperor Wanlis grandson, who later became Emperor Tianqi (Tsai 1995). It was this connection that gained him much of the fame and fortune. It was cooking for Tianqi as well that he met Ke, Tianqis mistress. The teenage Tianqi felt a deep, more than childlike devotion to Mistress Ke. In fact it was Ke who recommended Wei in 1622 to become the grand eunuch in the most powerful Ceremonial Directorate (Tsai 1995). Together with Ke, Wei had an improper and unhealthy influence on the young emperor. Wei received the emperors approval to train a eunuch army, and he was also made director of a secret police establishment called the Eastern Depot (Tsai 1995). He used his position to remove people he deemed undesirable and began a reign of terror by demoting and then murdering his former patron. As Tianqi lived a life of luxury, Wei killed countless number of people, dismissed honorable officials, stole jewelry from the imperial treasure, and acquired riches for his family (Tsai 1995). It was then tha t Yang Lian, now a censor, decided to impeach Wei. While 100 other officials sided with yang in denouncing Wei, Tianqi stood by Wei and ordered the high ranking officials including Yang to be flogged to death (Tsai 1995). It was only upon Tianqis death at the age of 23 that the reign of terror ended. Wei left Beijing with a guard of 800 eunuchs, 1000 horses, 40 wagonloads of jewelry. On his way to a prison outside Nanjing, he took his only and his copse was dismembered and displayed in his hometown as a warning to the public (Tsai 1995). Modern Eunuchs The word modern eunuchs may refer to either of two things: one, a modern eunuch may refer, in literal sense, to people who have been castrated, and two, it may also refer to people who are not the highest ruling body but play a big role in forming the decisions of the said ruling body through their political influence. With regards to the first meaning, it is not surprising that eunuchs still exist today since castration has not been fully ruled out as a punishment for heavy crimes. Reports about the activities and movements of eunuchs are spread out on the news all over the world, and clichà © enough, the world has some good news and bad news about eunuchs. Starting off with bad news so as not to break spirits after lifting them with the good news, news from BBC News South Asia reports that in India, eunuchs actually cut off mans penis. This is according to BBC correspondent in Himachal Pradesh, India, Baldev Chaunan. According to the report, the victim, Sonu, has been working as a drummer with a group of eunuchs, because apparently, dalits in India live by turning up uninvited at weddings, births and other major family events and singing until they are paid enough to go away. The said report also says that the reason why the eunuchs cut off the mans penis was unclear. It is just known fact that Eunuchs in India generally live in self-contained communities, ostracized [sic] by the rest of society. Countering this ruling fact is a news report by Reuters India dated November 10,2006 that reports: Dancing and singing eunuchs are knocking on doors in the Indian City of Patna in a bid to embarrass shopkeepers into paying their taxes. It is further said in the news article that they were hired by the government as a new shock strategy to make tax evaders pay their lot. It has been proven in the report that this strategy has worked, and who knows? It might just be the solution to the tax evasion that has been going on in India for some time. The eunuchs dont go home penniless either, they were promised by the taxmen 4% of the total commission. So the strategy was indeed a win-win case for both parties. It would be pleasing to hear that there still are good news like these once in a while where even the ostracized get to contribute to the betterment of the country. Now the meaning of eunuchs as castrated individuals may, in itself, take a figurative form with the meaning anyone who has lost their balls or sense of manliness. To be straightforward about it, the third sex, especially gays who have lost their balls when they decided that they were women trapped in a mans body, and transsexuals, who have had reconstructions of certain body parts, fall under this classification of modern eunuchs. This is because not only should the physical aspect of a human be considered, what is important to the person should also be considered, for what is a part if its meaning is empty? A mans genital would be just another part of the body if he does not give value to it nor take care of it. From this angle, it could be said that those who belong to the third sex and transsexuals are also eunuchs. Finally, eunuchs have always been known to have influential powers over the ruling forces, so ultimately, for the researchers of this topic, people who are influential enough to make the slightest differences in the decision of the higher authorities are also to be considered as eunuchs. People such as Chiz Escudero who, though he is part of the opposition, which is even the counter force of the administration, makes an impact on the decision that the authorities make and on the moves they execute next. A lot of forces outside the administration are actually making slightest effects on the decrees that the president makes. For example, rich and powerful clans like the Lopezes and Cojuangcos are always taken into consideration in the making of policies although they are not necessarily part of the ruling force itself. They are eunuchs not by appearance, but by essence. Insights and Learnings So in the course of writing this paper about Chinese eunuchs, we, the researchers, have learned a lot and have acquired a lot of insights in relation with eunuchs. And with that, we contest with the thought that the eunuchs rose to power. There can be no rise of they were at the top to begin with. How can I say that they were already at the top when castration was a grave punishment to begin with? and Shouldnt it be that they started from humble beginnings and rose from the ranks? are some of the questions that might grapple with us in this matter. Here we reiterate the point mentioned in the history part of this paper; the part that says that eunuchs were castrated in exchange for death penalty. It also said that they were castrated because of political crimes. There is logic as to why this assumption could be drawn. If what the person has done has been completely barbaric and criminal like stealing and killing, then the government might as well do off without them, but in this case , the government didnt kill the criminals. Why? Because the crimes they have committed were political crimes. They were crimes against the ruling political view, Confucianism. In short, the soon-to-be-eunuchs were actually political analysts in the sense that they were able to find flaws and possibly solutions to the flaws in the government. This is why instead of disposing them; the government was able to use them as political advisors of some sort in the form of what would soon be called eunuchs. They already had this richness in them to begin with, the richness of knowledge of what to do, of whats wrong and how to correct that wrong. They were already powerful in that whatever the emperor couldnt solve, they already had a plan of action in their minds. Ranking was of no relevance. After all, there is no way to measure knowledge in its most raw form. What could be measured is the ratio of intelligence to age or IQ, but that isnt knowledge in itself. More than this insight, we were able to learn a few things in relation with eunuchs. People cant have everything. This is a chip from the clichà ©: nobodys perfect. People cant be rich, famous, intelligent, influential and still have no flaws. We just realized that one way or another, no matter how high up they are, there will always be one thing they lack. Well, in the case of eunuchs, the readers should know by now what the rich, intelligent and influential eunuchs lack. Thats right. Facial hairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and more. Also, what goes up, must come down, is another learning from this topic about eunuchs. When there is too much yang, yin must sink in. Meaning, there must always be balance. Things will always return to their normal state. They will always try to equalize themselves out. A ball launched high into the sky, no matter the peak height, will always go back to the ground right after. The closer you are to something, the harder it is to see it. The emperors really had a ha rd time solving their problems. It was because they were in too deep that they forgot to look at the bigger picture and how to move the puzzle pieces in that picture. They needed an outsiders perspective to assess and evaluate the situation because they are the ones who are able to see clearly. It is important sometimes to look at the thing as a whole to see what is wrong with it from a different and easier-to-handle angle.

The Ritual Of Sati In Hindu Religioun

The Ritual Of Sati In Hindu Religioun The practice of sati, the immolation of widows, is the most tenacious example of religious customs. Many people often associate the concept of sati with just India; however, the practice of self-immolation has been widespread in world history. The article written by Jorg Fisch, claims that examples of sati can be traced to incidents of headhunting in Southeast Asia (Fisch 2001: 301) and the ritual murder of a kings cook, brewer, and shepherd in Baganda (Fisch 2001: 299). In order to understand the reasoning behind the ritual one must look into every aspect of it from the angles of different religious traditions. So, as one can see sati is not unique to India. However, the cases of sati, even though, rare, have still taken place since the proclamation of Indias independence in 1947. The most recent case that has sparked a heated debate is the sati of eighteen-year old widow, Roop Kanwar. The most surprising consequence of young womans death was the fact that women from different parts of the country rallied demanding to be permitted to commit sati (Kumar 1995: 76). The pro-sati lobbyists fought for their rights to commit, worship, and propagate sati; it got to the point where the Sati Dharma Raksha Samti (the Committee for the Defense of the Religion of Sati) was formed (Hawley 1994: 9). This group was run by educated Rajput men in their twenties and thirties who claimed that sati was a fundamental part of their traditions; a refusal to legitimize sati, they said, was a deliberate attempt to marginalize the Rajputs (Kumar 1995: 81). To fully grasp the concept of sati one must look into history of the ritual and not only in India but in other countries as well; search for examples and reasoning in sacred texts; and discover the attitudes both supporting and opposing sati that exist in modern day India. The rituals of sati exist throughout the world in documented cases that were reported in various countries. Jorg Fisch reports, in his paper, that human sacrifice was practiced frequently in China. He follows the pioneering scholar of Chinese religion J.J.M. de Groot in saying that Confucius and his followers opposed it, however de Groot disagrees that it was Confucian opposition that ended the practice in China (de Groot 1976: 300-301, 310, 320). The history reports that sometimes great numbers of ordinary people were lured to the mausoleum of an emperor only to be locked up to be buried alive (Fisch 2001:313). But it is not the brutal practice of massive murders of ordinary people that makes the ritual of sati come alive in Chinese history but rather the account of childless concubines being buried with the first emperor. Later, the custom of following emperors in death which was reserved for only those from the lower class was followed by the suicide of widows. It was considered t o be a form of faithfulness and a reflection of not only on the changing nature of Confucianism but also other religious traditions emerging in China. Regardless of the religious opposition the practice remained in place for a while. Just like in India, Chinese religious opposition failed to convince people that sati is inhumane and unnecessary. Just like in India, it was due to the fact that general population held strong beliefs in life after death and that by following their husbands the widows were fulfilling their dharma therefore it could not be wrong. The reasons that drove Chinese widows to commit sati included deep sorrow at the death of a beloved spouse; the anticipated difficulties of life as a widow, including the threat of forced remarriage; and, as for Indian sati widows, the possibility of honor, enshrinement, even deification (Fisch 2001:311, 316). But within the same faiths, as daughters and daughters-in-law with seniors to care for, as beneficiaries of their parent s gift of life and body, as mothers to their husbands heirs, as officiants in the ancestral cult, as lay Buddhist devotees, or as women tough enough to honor life-long vows of chastity, they might also choose to live an honorable life. They could do so while still believing in a life after death, or in repeated, rather than final, judgment of their sins and virtues, or they might believe in honor for its own sake and the immortality of their name. Just like India, China held belief that everyone holds a choice over their own destiny and are free to either follow the dead or remain alive. There is no stigma or shame attached to either. The ritual of sati has been in the lives of Hindus for many generations. There are accounts of sati or the refusal of thereof in the sacred texts of Hinduism. Sati is mentioned in both the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda, two sacred texts in the Hindu tradition. The reason why it was practiced for so many years was because of discussion in these texts. One of the sections of the Vedas in known as Samhitas, and it contains a section called the Rig Veda Samhita, which includes a passage defending sati as it states: Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house with ghee (applied) as corrylium (to their eyes). Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned. (Rig Veda 10.18.7) The verse encourages a widow to throw herself on her dead husbands pyre as a personal sacrifice to her husband. In the scripture, sati is a wife entering the funeral pyre, and the practice has started because it is a part of a sacred text. It is described with many other ritual practices prescribed to the followers of Hinduism. Another sacred text that defends the practice of sati is the Atharva Veda Samhita. It is from the same collection of Samhita as the Rig Veda and the funeral verse in the Atharva Veda in Kanda 18, Sukta 3 states: This woman, choosing her husbands world, lies down (nipad) by you that are departed, O mortal, continuing to keep [her] ancient duty (dharma); to her assign you here progeny and property. Sati is also mentioned in Mahabharata in the story of the pigeon and the hunter. Sati is described as a ritual suicide because after the passing of the husband the wife has to follow him too. Bhisma tells the story where the pigeons wife decides that no moral woman could still live if her husband was dead and so she decides to throw herself into her husbands funeral fire (Sutton 2000: 87). The result of her actions is that she is sent to svarga-loca (celestial world) alongside her husband in a celestial chariot (Sutton 2000: 87). The mention of the sati ritual on the pages of often read Mahabharata is regarded as another justification of the ritual. However, despite the fact that the ritual of sati is discussed in sacred texts for any Hindu, people started to seek another interpretation for the same verses. The understanding of the tradition is different now than it was at the beginning of the religion. The human rights activists and feminist lobbyists are fighting to liquidate the tradition completely. Those who oppose the ritual of sati claim that it is simply appalling and should be abolished forever. It seems like there shouldnt be a conflict as the practice became illegal many times. First, it was abolished by the British in 1829; and then again in late 1980s after the sati of Roop Kanwar. Indian feminists argue that the proclamation of Roop as an exemplary and chaste wife is revolting. The idea behind the ritual is the one of grave oppression of women and vivid representation of their secondary status and lack of choices. For centuries, the social status of women was closely related to the one of their fathers and later, t heir husbands. It was never an option for a female to be considered an equal in everything to her husband. After the independence of India was proclaimed women got their chance to build their lives the way they desire. But, sadly, many were clinging to the past, to something they have always known, the traditional way of life and thinking. The feminist leaders stepped up and encouraged the female population to take the reins of their destinies and think for themselves. It is unthinkable that in this day and age, anyone would consider a ritual suicide just because of the tradition that dates couple millennia back. In conclusion, the ritual of sati has rich and intriguing history. The account of sati examples were discovered in numerous documents all over the world. It can be determined to certain that India was not the only country that practiced ritual sacrifices of innocent women in order to fulfill their dharma and show off their chaste and pure nature. China had centuries of regular practice of sati, but unlike in India, the practice was long abolished. Concrete evidence that supports the ritual of sati is found in several sacred texts in Hinduism. It makes it harder to argue that sati is rather a choice a widow must make and not a predestined certainty. The evidence from the texts can be interpreted as a supporting ground for sati. It sounds noble, and pure, and chaste, to show the world the devotion the widow has for her deceased husband. In reality, it is just a tradition, a ritual like any other, that one can chose to forgo. In modern times there is no more stigma attached to being a w idow, no shame to carry with the title, no burden to lay on those who are still alive. Modern society is all about equality of rights for everyone. And Indian feminists argue just that, the tradition of sati had its place in history and lives of Hindus, but now, it is time to make wiser choices and live, instead of committing sacrificial suicide.

Irony, Symbolism, and Imagery Reveal the Emptiness of War in One Hundre

Irony, Symbolism, and Imagery Reveal the Emptiness of War in One Hundred Years of Solitude While most scholars have agreed that war is a real and significant part of human history, these same scholars have yet not reached a consensus on the characteristics of war. History books often lean toward glorifying war with stories of soldiers dying for their honor and homeland; novels, on the other hand, tend to point out the emptiness of war with stories of soldiers losing their youth and contact with the world. The selected passage from Gabriel Garcia Marquez' novel One Hundred Years of Solitude adds to the debate over war's characteristics. Through the literary techniques of irony, symbolism, and imagery, this text reveals the major theme that, in reality, war is not glorious but empty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By having Colonel Gerineldo Marquez conclude his telegraph with the slogan "Long Live the Liberal party," the author successfully creates a sense of irony in the reader at the end of the second paragraph. While the first two sentences of the passage present Colonel Marquez as the civil and military leader of Macondo who has realized the emptiness of war, this party slogan presents words that carry no weight when written by a man who believes his commanding officer to be a total stranger. Positioned high on the military chain of command, Colonel Marquez received the opportunity to witness the war's progression from an isolated conflict of clear definition and predictable course, to a widespread conflict of augmenting intensity and uncertainty. Therefore, his words "I understand, Aureliano,...Long Live the Liberal party" become ironic. Colonel Aureliano Buendia will consider these words to be a patriotic affirmation of orders, when th... ...magery, and irony, combine to create a successful introduction of one of the novel's major themes - the emptiness of war. By having Colonel Gerineldo Marquez realize the true nature of war and then referring to him as the first in line to make that realization, the author sets up the reader for a series of other witnesses whose testimonies should make the statement concerning war's characteristic emptiness even more valid. Later in the novel, Colonel Aureliano Buendia discovers the true nature of war only after twenty years of fighting along with a sad realization that the conservative regime he had been trying to topple all this time is good and in accordance with the people's wishes. Colonel Buendia then recognizes that war is not a conflict of ideologies, but an ugly and empty struggle for power, concluding a thematic thread started by Colonel Gerineldo Marquez.

Horror of War Exposed in Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Wester

Horror of War Exposed in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story, not of Germans, but of men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war. The entire purpose of this novel is to illustrate the vivid horror and raw nature of war and to change the popular belief that war has an idealistic and romantic character.   The story centers on Paul Baà ¼mer, who enlists in the German army with glowing enthusiasm.   In the course of war, though, he is consumed by it and in the end is "weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope"   (Remarque page #).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through Baà ¼mer, Remarque examines how war makes man inhuman. He uses excellent words and phrases to describe crucial details to this theme. "The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts," (page #). Baà ¼mer and his classmates who enlisted into the army see the true reality of the war.   They enter the war fresh from school, knowing nothing except the environment of hopeful youth and they come to a premature maturity with the war, their only home. "We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces.   We are not youth any longer" (page #).   They have lost their innocence.   Everything they are taught, the world of work, duty, culture, and progress, are not the slightest use to them because the only thing they need to know is how to survive.   They need to know how to escape the shells as well as the emotional and psychological torment of the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The war takes a heavy toll on the soldiers who fight in it. The terror of death will infest the minds of soldiers... ...as they dread wound and death.   They have nothing to look forward to but years of rage.   They have experienced the horrors of war but have not experienced the enjoyments of life.   They will be pushed aside and forgotten and the years will pass, and in the end they will fall into ruin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All Quiet on the Western Front tries to explain the purpose of war and its uselessness.   It is a story of an almost obliterated generation that fought for nothing but the principle of hate.   Change the names, and it could have been the tale of a Frenchman, an Englishman, or an American.   It is perhaps the most tragic generation our human records tell of.   It bears the overwhelming accent of simple truth that makes you one wonder why war still exists. Work Cited Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Trans. A. W. Wheen. New York: Ballantine, 1982.

Nutsedge: Weedy Pest or Crop of the Future? :: Botany

Nutsedge: Weedy Pest or Crop of the Future? Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) is an invasive weed in the United States. It is often regarded as a useless pest to home gardeners as well as commercial growers. Along with being a useless weed it is difficult to control. Several commercial herbicides have been labeled for use exclusively on yellow nutsedge and are available at local retailers. This, of course, indicates much research has gone into the development of chemicals to eradicate it. In a country that spends much of it's time and money on programs focusing on the advancement of crop production has the yellow nutsedge been labeled unfairly? Could the U.S. find use for Cyperus esculentus L.? A look into it's past and present might reveal a profitable future. Cyperus esculentus is in the order Commelinales and the family Cyperaceae. Cyperus esculentus can be distinguished from other species of New World nutsedge by its persistent linear brown spiklets that have closely appressed overlapping scales. This perennial plant is self-incompatible. The stem of yellow nutsedge is triangularand has a light green-yellow color. Rhizomes that terminate in tubers are the main means of reproduction, although it does produce viable seed. It is interesting to note that the name Linnaeus chose for this sedge, esculentus, means edible in latin (6). The two varieties of interest to us are Cyperus esculentus var. esculentus (weedy) and Cyperus esculentus var. sativus (cultivated). Most literature uses the name Cyperus esculentus for both the weedy and the useful sedge. The weedy variety esculentus produces many seeds although the cultivated variety sativus produces few. Yellow nutsedge (weedy) has been reported to produce 605 million seeds per hectare in Massachusetts (4). Both reproduce vegetatively in great numbers. Research indicates that a single nutsedge tuber can produce about 1900 plants and 7000 tubers in one yearly (8). The weedy nutsedge was introduced to the Dutch Netherlands in the late 1970's concealed in Gladiolus and it was so invasive that in 1984 a restriction was implemented by the government. This regulation prohibits the harvest of any root crop in a field that is infested with the yellow nutsedge (3). Cyperus esculentus var. esculentus and Cyperus esculentus var. sativus are closely related according to Moshe Negbi (6). The color of the tubers appears to be one unusual character. Variety sativus has a grey-orange color and variety esculentus has a grayed brown color according to the Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (3).

Alice B. Gomme and “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland”

It is always valuable to explore the life and works of a pioneer in the literary field. This is for the reason that aside from his or her distinct and colorful existence, it is the originality and significance of a trademark literary work that imparted or provided the public with important principle and practices. This reality was what renowned British folklorist Alice Bertha Gomme or simply Lady Gomme exemplified to her readers and the public of the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.A study of her life revealed her remarkable contribution in the genre of folklore which, in turn, created an important influence on the lives of the children. Particularly for her work â€Å"The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland,† Gomme exuded the authority and gained the respect of her readers. It is therefore worthy to state that a research and presentation on Alice B. Gomme and her most famous work, relevant life realities particularly concerning children are convey ed. Through Children’s Games and SongsA presentation about British folklorist Alice B. Gomme showed how she was fond of children and their activities. This is the reason why children influenced and became the center of her materials in Gomme’s literary works. The focused was evident through her most acclaimed folklore â€Å"The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland. † Beyond the nature and circumstances of children in Gomme’s folklores, her literary works best signified the kind of personality that she shared with her readers. That is, the works of Alice B.Gomme, although traditional and controlled, clearly showed how she has lived and worked in a focused way (â€Å"A Proper Limitation,† 2001). As per the Musical Traditions Web Services’ (2001) description of Gomme’s life and analysis of her works, â€Å"her sweetly pretty children’s games and quaint old stories she was a proper Victorian lade in all senses of the word† (â€Å"A Proper Limitation,† 2001). Through a helpful scholarship, the supposed stereotyping concerning Gomme herself and the seemingly labeling of her folklores were removed.In doing so, the range and intensity of her materials proved how she was worthy of her gotten and apparently striking achievements (â€Å"A Proper Limitation,† 2001). As the founder or pioneer and staunch advocate of the â€Å"Folk-Lore Society† and the â€Å"English Folk Cookery Association,† Gomme was obviously inventive in many disciplines of folklore. As such, it turned out that through children’s games and songs, Gomme showed her potential and created understandable famous books but did not compromise their academic aspect and essence.In short, Gomme took into consideration that youthful life quality of children through the effective creation of children’s games and songs. The effort ultimately paved the way for the creation of meaningful and useful ch ildren-related materials that best suited the early stages of life of people (â€Å"A Proper Limitation,† 2001). The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland The material that best described the caliber of Gomme was the two-volume â€Å"The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland† which was provided to the public on 1894 and 1898.These alphabetically-arranged lists of British games were the famous materials, specifically the games children normally play and even continue to play nowadays on Holidays and special events (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898). It became apparent that mostly on the list signified singing, vocalization, hands clapping as well as music-related content that evidently contributed as the foundation of a number of British conventional tunes and songs.Beyond these facts however, Gomme’s â€Å"Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland† became notable because although it was made more than a century ago, many of the games created by Gomme and included in the said work remained to influence today’s setting concerning how children play and carry songs (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898). Each volume of the Gomme masterpiece contained 500 pages entries of songs and games such as the â€Å"Accroshay† up to â€Å"Nuts in May† as well as the â€Å"Oats and Beans† up to â€Å"Would You Know† (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898).The said folklore manifested the standard kinds of games and songs in the British Isles. As such, these included the natures, categories and features of English games and songs with their rules or guidelines which were arranged in a dictionary-like form based on the most oftentimes used songs and played games complete with all the activities concerned (Dorson, 1982). Additionally, the famous and very enjoyable folklore showed different characteristics and notes documents as well as varied rules that varied according to the quality of the songs and games, resp ectively.Now, after more than 100 years of existence, Gomme’s â€Å"The Traditional Games in England, Scotland and Ireland† definitely survived and that the significance of the games and songs and most importantly, their implications to children and even those young at hearts are the things that happened and stood through time (Dorson, 1982). It was likewise notable that through the melodies, singing-rhymes and processes of carrying-out the games; the collected songs and plays turned out to be of real importance not only to the author but most especially to her public.This is because the folklore aimed and eventually succeeded in presenting what relevant proof is to be obtained from separate research of the â€Å"Traditional Games of England† (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898). Gomme as the famous Song-catcher The conventionality of Gomme’s â€Å"The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland† did not hinder it from emerging as one of the best mat erial of within its period. I fact, the attributes of the said traditional literary created a field of education and the entire subject matter for such discipline in general.Relatively, the folklore and folk life in Gomme’s work became the basis in studying and relating the material in today’s contemporary setting. These very obvious features made Gomme as an undeniable song catcher. As the term itself indicates, the song-maker and game-founder in Gomme allowed her to efficiently grab the attention, interest and conduct of people particularly children. â€Å"The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland† is an existing evidence of the power of folklore in the lives of people.Specifically for children, the Gomme material became their guide and inspiration in satisfying their childhood necessities and inclinations. Hence, this condition proved how Gomme and her folklore, with all its songs and plays, captured the hearts and imaginations of children. Concl usion It is undisputedly worthy to study and be inspired by Gomme and her â€Å"The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland. † The fact that the author and her pioneering work were able to seize the likes of children is a concrete proof of how the power of such literary genre successfully influenced her readers in their youthfulness.Ultimately, Gomme and her materials of songs and games grabbed the world of the children and this was a considerable factor in regarding the innovative folklorist worthy of her stature. References Dorson, R. M. (1982). Folklore and Folk life: An Introduction. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Gomme, A. B. (1894 & 1898). The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (Vols. 1 & 2). London: Nutt. Musical Traditions Web Services. (2001). A Proper Limitation: Stereotypes of Alice Gomme. Retrieved June 16, 2009, from http://www. mustrad. org. uk/articles/gomme. htm